


Beneath The Masks

by nowalee



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Drama, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Get Together, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Idiots in Love, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Is The Captain, Tony Stark Does What He Wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23220619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nowalee/pseuds/nowalee
Summary: Steve Rogers is the Captain, a leader of an infamous organization that targets corrupt businessmen.When on an undercover mission, he meets Tony Stark, a man who should be the worst of them all - wealthy, spoiled, entitled. But it seems that Tony Stark is not like that at all and Steve wants to uncover the mystery of the man, all the while keeping the fact that he is the Captain a secret.It's not helping that he also has to deal with Iron Man, who is flashy and arrogant and everything Steve dislikes and judging by their interactions the feeling seems to be mutual.But while Steve is torn between his two identities, a new threat is on the horizon that might just put everything Steve’s been working on in jeopardy.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 24
Kudos: 206





	Beneath The Masks

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this fic for more than a year now, on and off. I can't quite believe it's finally done.
> 
> This is my first AU. Steve, Bucky and Peggy were all born in modern times and Steve is just a regular soldier and not Captain America but Tony's still Iron Man.
> 
> This is also my first identity porn fic which was so much fun to write since it's one of my favorite tropes.
> 
> I used Mandarin as a villain, though I adjusted him to fit my needs so it's neither movie nor comics accurate.
> 
> I really hope you guys like this one! And of course feel free to let me know what you thought of it in the comments!
> 
> Thank you for reading!

The black suit he was wearing made him very uncomfortable.

Their job didn't usually involve this kind of espionage, and it made Steve even more aware of his surroundings. Wealthy, entitled businessmen conversing over expensive champagne, discussing their million-dollar businesses.

The gala was for a charity. It was a huge event in one of the biggest hotels in Manhattan and almost everyone who was important in the business world was there. There were paparazzi everywhere and Steve got sick of watching these people pose and smile for the cameras, pretending they were there for the charity and not just the good press and good wine.

Everyone here was rich and powerful, and aware of it.

When Steve founded the organization, right after coming home from the army, he did it because of people like them. Finding out some disturbing facts about the people responsible for the sufferings Steve had witnessed made him want to bring them to justice in any way he could. Because they were untouchable by law. Money bought them power and power bought them security. So Steve decided to do something about it. And he wasn’t alone in that.

His team was small, but they were the most ruthless and efficient people Steve had ever met. And they trusted him enough to lead them.

Still, this was an unusual job, even for them. Being at the gala, in formal clothes, playing the part of rich and spoiled members of the society.

Steve would choose the good old fashioned breaking and entering any day.

But they were there for a reason and his name was Richard Johnson, an acclaimed advocate of many wealthy businessmen and their companies, including Hammer Technologies. Steve and his crew have been tracing Hammer for a while, trying to find any kind of evidence that he was dealing under the table, selling to terrorists.

A few weeks ago they finally found a lead, and it led them right to Richard Johnson’s name.

The man was surprisingly hard to track, always moving, never alone. For someone who was supposed to be an easy target, he made Steve and his team incredibly frustrated. But when they found out he would be at the gala, the opportunity was too good to miss out on.

“It’s clear,” Clint’s voice echoed in his ear and Steve caught Natasha’s eye across the room. He watched her walk pass Johnson and, in a way that looked completely accidental, spill her drink all over his expensive suit.

Johnson looked livid until she started batting her eyelashes at him, apologizing. She tried to clean up the mess with her hands but it was hopeless. Johnson put his hand on her back, no doubt reassuring her that it was fine. Steve saw her lean in and whisper something in his ear until Johnson grinned and nodded. He started walking toward the restroom, Natasha on his heels.

“Nice work,” Steve said, turning around.

While Natasha interrogated Johnson in the restroom, it was Steve and Clint’s jobs to watch the entrance and stop anyone from interrupting.

Steve couldn’t see Clint but he assumed the archer had found some high ground from where he could better see the flow of the crowd.

Now all Steve had to do was wait. He trusted Natasha’s ability to extract information but he was still anxious. He preferred the real fight, out in the open, not sneaking around and waiting, playing the part of someone he hated.

He hoped everything would go smoothly for once, but no such luck. It was only after a couple of minutes that he heard Clint say, “Cap, we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it?” he asked, leaning on the bar and bowing his head so no one could see his lips moving.

“Tony Stark. He’s on his way to the restroom.”

Steve cursed. Tony Stark. The epitome of rich, spoiled and entitled. He represented everything Steve hated and though they had no reason to suspect Stark Industries was dealing under the table, Steve didn’t cross Stark off his list. Everyone made mistakes, so if Stark was really making illegal profit, Steve was bound to find out about it sooner or later.

“What do we do?” he asked. As a leader, he hated having to ask, but he was out of his element in this situation.

“He’s about to walk by next to you. Stop him,” said Clint, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And then what?” Steve hissed. They were running out of time.

“Flirt with him. We all know he’s weak for a pretty face,” Steve could hear amusement in Clint’s voice and was about to retort, when he saw Stark, elegant as ever, about to pass by him.

 _Here goes nothing_ , Steve thought as he cleared his throat and stepped in front of Tony Stark’s path.

“Excuse me, Mr. Stark?” Steve said with his best smile. He hoped it didn’t look as fake as it felt.

Stark seemed unsurprised to be stopped, though his expression didn’t give anything away but mild interest. “Yes?” he asked, his voice confident yet surprisingly soft.

Steve was at a loss. Stark was someone who always seemed so larger than life, distant and unobtainable. Yet here he was, standing in front of Steve, looking at him with his intense, brown eyes. Steve didn’t really know what to say to him. Certainly nothing nice. Besides, he was a lousy flirt, even with the people he liked. “I… I just wanted to say how nice it is of you to be here and support the charity,” it was the lamest thing that could have come out of his mouth, but it was the only genuine thing as well.

Stark’s eyes widened in surprise, but only for a second. “I must admit, it’s not what people usually approach me for, but thank you. It’s good to know there’s someone else here who came because of the kids.” Stark was looking at him as if seeing him for the first time, a note of interest in his eyes.

Steve stared for a moment. “The kids?” he asked, before he could stop himself.

Stark frowned. “Yes. The donations go to the hospital for disabled kids here in New York.”

“Right,” Steve said, “I was just surprised you knew that. Many of the people I talked to today didn’t seem to have a clue.” Neither did Steve for that matter, but he was here for a job not the charity so he thought he was excused.

Stark chucked, “Yeah, I don’t blame you, it’s not what people around here talk about. But to be honest with you, I don’t care. As long as they give the money, they can talk about themselves as much as they want.”

Steve actually smiled at that, “I’m glad you think that way.”

“Yes, well, those children are precious, if you haven’t, you should visit, they’re always happy to see a new face around there.”

Stark smiled at him, and Steve’s whole world felt like it’s been turned upside down. “Oh, so you’ve been there?”

“A couple of times,” Stark said and Steve knew that if anyone else in this room said it, they would sound like they deserved a medal for taking the time out of their precious schedules to do a good deed, but Stark, the busiest man in New York, said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. “I’m working on some prototypes for prosthesis that would make their lives a whole lot easier, hopefully.”

“Oh,” Steve said. “Can the hospital afford that?”

Stark shook his head. “We don’t take money from the hospital. All the equipment is donated. Most of it is just prototypes anyway.” Before Steve could respond, Stark continued, “Of course, I wouldn’t give them anything that I wasn’t one hundred percent certain it was working. It’s just a way to get away with donating the equipment, since my board of directors are not exactly happy about it,” he gave a little rueful smile, and a what-can-you-do gesture.

Steve was frozen to the spot, feeling like everything he thought he knew was wrong, and not really minding. “Wow,” he said. “I must admit, I’m pleasantly surprised. Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t seem this way in the press.”

Stark was smiling again, and Steve couldn’t help but stare. “When you’ve been in the public eye from the young age you learn to manipulate the press to your advantage.”

“And what advantage do you have from appearing like an asshole?” Steve widened his eyes and went to apologize, “I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…” but Stark waived him off, laughing.

“It’s okay, it’s refreshing to have someone be so blunt with me. But to answer your question, the advantage is that when you appear to be like everyone else the interest in you decreases.”

Steve sensed there was more to it. “As far as I know, the public interest in you has always been very high.”

“Well I can’t help but be brilliant and good looking. People are bound to notice,” Stark joked. Steve felt like there was so much more to this story, so much more to Tony Stark himself. He was intrigued despite himself.

Unfortunately that was when Clint decided to speak up, “Natasha’s done. Wrap things up with Stark and meet us in the van.”

Steve resisted the urge to sigh. “Well, you are certainly an interesting man,” Steve said and found, to his surprise, that he meant it.

Stark looked at him again, intensely, like he was really looking at _Steve_ and not some nameless stranger. “You know, I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Steve Rogers,” Steve said before he could stop himself, before he could realize that he wasn’t supposed to be Steve Rogers at this gala.

“Nice to meet you, Steve Rogers,” Stark said, and he sounded amused but pleased, still looking at Steve like he was the only person in the room. It was a bit disorienting.

Steve wondered how he was supped to get out of this conversation. He didn’t want to stop talking to Stark, but he also didn’t want Natasha and Clint to wait for him.

Fortunately, some businessman with grays in his hair approached them. He turned toward Stark and seemed to be completely ignoring Steve. “Mr. Stark, here you are. My business partner and I were wondering if you had a few minutes to spare, we’ve had this wonderful idea about…” the man’s voice blurred in Steve’s head as he caught Stark’s exasperated but amused gaze.

“Mr. Wright,” Stark interrupted and Steve wondered where he got the man’s name. He probably knew all of them. “I would love to hear more about it after I finish my conversation with Mr. Rogers over here.”

Wright turned an irritated gaze on Steve but it was gone by the time he looked back at Stark. “Of course, no problem. I will be at the bar, waiting.”

“Great,” said Stark, but Wright didn’t seemed to catch the sarcasm as he smiled and wandered off at the direction of the bar.

“Do you see what I’m usually dealing with?” Stark rolled his eyes. “Trust me, those people never have good ideas, or they have an idea but have no clue how to make it happen so they expect me to do it.”

“And can you do it?” Steve challenged.

Stark looked at him, unimpressed. “Of course I can. But I can’t do the entire work for them. I’m a very busy man, you know.”

Steve grinned. “Naturally.” He hated to end the conversation here but he lingered for far too long as it was. He looked at his watch. “I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to deal with Mr. Wright. I have to go, it’s already late.”

“Oh. Okay,” Stark said and Steve thought he could see something like disappointment cross his face. “Well Mr. Rogers,” the amusement was back. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

It was unlikely but Steve still smiled and said, “Yeah, see you around.”

It was hard to turn around and start walking but Steve managed, turning only once to see Stark standing where he left him, staring at him, a thoughtful look on his face.

Steve turned around, and tried to keep the smile off his face.

* * *

Steve stepped inside the van, signaling Bruce, who was at the wheel, to start driving.

He sat down on the opposite side of Clint and Natasha, who looked at him expectantly.

Steve ignored their stares and asked, “What did you find out?”

Instead of answering, Natasha demanded, “What took you so long?”

Steve opened his mouth to answer (though what he would have told them, he had no idea) but Clint intercepted him, “He was flirting with Stark.”

“I was not flirting,” Steve immediately protested. “We were just talking.”

“You and Stark?” said Natasha dubiously. “I thought you hated men like him?”

It was true. They all knew it. But… “Well, maybe he’s different.”

He was hoping they could leave it at that but he wasn’t that lucky. “How so?”

Steve sighed, “It doesn’t matter. Can we turn to the matter at hand? What did Johnson tell you?”

Again, she ignored him, but this time she turned toward Clint who responded, “Apparently Stark likes kids or whatever.”

“Were you listening to our conversation?” Steve asked. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten to turn off his coms.

“A little bit,” Clint responded like it was no big deal.

Steve was about to go on a rant about privacy, when Natasha interrupted him, “So, wait, does that mean you like _Stark_ now?” she asked.

“We had one short conversation. He just doesn’t seem as bad as some of the other high-class businessmen we’re usually dealing with. Like Hammer. So can we go back to talking about him and what you found out from Johnson?” he knew they meant well, but he didn’t want to talk to them about it. He didn’t know how he felt about the whole thing, and he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

Natasha must have sensed that because she just sighed and said, “We were right, Hammer has been dealing under the table, specifically selling to a terrorist from China. Johnson didn’t know any specific names, but the man in charge apparently calls himself ‘the Mandarin’.”

“The Mandarin? That doesn’t sound familiar,” Steve noted.

“He’s a fairly new player around US, though he has quite the reputation in the east. This guy is not messing around.”

“And Hammer has been giving him all kinds of weapons,” Steve said grimly. “Do we have proof?”

“Unfortunately not, Johnson has been very clear that Hammer destroyed any evidence pointing to his relations with the Mandarin.”

“So we’re back at square one?” asked Clint. He sounded resigned and Steve could sympathize. They’ve been going after Hammer for far too long.

Natasha smiled. “Perhaps not.”

“Did he say something else?” Steve asked.

“It’s not much, but it might be a step in the right direction.”

“Well, what is it?” Clint asked impatiently.

“Johnson said that their exchanges usually happen at the harbor. In Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Hell’s Kitchen?” asked Clint. “I’m almost impressed, didn’t think Hammer had enough balls for that place.”

Natasha’s mouth pulled at one side, as if she was restraining a grin. “Still, Johnson couldn’t tell me the exact coordinates or time of the exchange… You know what that means right?” she turned toward Steve.

Steve’s mouth tightened. He did know what she meant. They needed Iron Man’s help.

Ever since Iron Man hit the scene, there had been many run in’s with him and Steve’s crew. Since they both seemed to target the same corrupt businessmen, it was only the matter of time, really.

But that didn’t mean Steve had to like it.

Iron Man was arrogant, flashy. His bright red and gold suit was the polar opposite from Steve’s subtle blacks and blues.

And just because he had a highly-advanced suit of armor, it did not make him better than everyone else, as he seemed to think.

There was also the fact that, when they did decide to work together (for efficiency purposes) Iron Man never listened to him. Even Clint and Natasha listened to his orders when on the field. He was the Captain. Strategizing and making plans was his job, and Iron Man seemed to disregard every decision Steve made, in favor of his own, more reckless ones.

It drove Steve up the wall. And Iron Man seemed to also disagree with his own method of doing things (“uptight” as he would call it), so it was obvious why the two of them didn’t get along.

Most of their co-operations ended with more fighting between the two of them than fighting bad guys, so they decided to mostly stick apart, except for the occasional information exchange (which Steve will admit, have been very useful at times).

So, it was only natural that the idea of Iron Man working so closely with his team did not make him happy.

And Natasha knew that.

“Do we have to?” he asked. He knew he sounded petulant, and that, as the leader, he had to consider the benefits for the group and not his own personal feelings, but it was hard to do that when Iron Man was involved.

“Steve. We need air support if we want a chance at finding Hammer. You know that,” said Natasha.

“We have a Quinjet,” Steve tried, even though he knew it was a lost cause.

“Too visible. Steve. You can’t let your feeling get in the way of work,” Natasha voiced his own thoughts. It wasn’t any easier to accept it.

“I know. Contact him when we get to the base,” Steve said. He hated the knowing look she gave him, the fact that everyone knew about the animosity between them.

The worst of all was that everyone else liked Iron Man just fine. And Iron Man seemed to get along with everyone splendidly. It was only Steve he had a problem with. Only Steve he picked fights with.

But for today he could forget all about Iron Man. Natasha would contact him and they would arrange a meeting, but for now Steve could relax and silently celebrate today’s successful work.

And if the conversation with Tony Stark was at the forefront of his mind, well, nobody had to know.

* * *

Steve was having a lousy day. It was a day after the gala and tonight was the night they would meet with Iron Man to discuss strategy and possible plan of attack on Hammer.

It got everyone at the base busy with preparations and excited for the team up.

Steve was not feeling the excitement. The last time he worked with Iron Man everything almost blew up in their faces because they were distracted with fighting each other instead of the enemy.

Nobody really understood it. Steve was usually so calm and collected, the kind of person who never engaged in verbal fights, but intercepted them and played the role of a peaceful middleman for opposing parties. And if anyone did dare to go against him, a glare and a stern but not raised voice was all that was needed to resolve the situation.

With Iron Man it was like all his control just snapped. He didn’t understand why he evoked such strong feelings in him or why he couldn’t hold it together when faced with the man.

But it didn’t matter. He’ll try to keep it peaceful tonight (and if he said that every time and still haven’t managed to uphold it, well… there’s a first time for everything).

To make the matters even worse, ever since the gala, he couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Tony Stark.

It didn’t make much sense. Steve should have already forgotten all about it, but for some reason, Stark’s smile lingered at the edges of Steve’s mind every time he found himself alone and with only his thoughts for company.

Maybe it was because Stark was a mystery. A man that seemed bigger than life, but was so down to earth in reality. Maybe it was because Steve prided himself on his ability to read people, and yet he had misjudged Stark for the simple reason of letting the media influence his view of the man. Maybe he just wanted to know who Stark really was, when there was no camera in his vicinity. Or maybe Steve just had a type and gorgeous, snarky, intelligent brunets were exactly that.

Maybe it was all of it. It was probably all of it.

Still, he doubted he would see Stark again. The man was probably busy developing some new peace of tech for his company or running the meetings who knows where in the world.

But it was a nice thought, that not every rich businessman was a horrible person, only caring about money and their own influence.

Sure, Stark seemed like he would be one of the worst ones. But Steve knew how much the media could warp the stories, tell things in a way that would insure them the most amount of views. It was more than once that some news site portrayed Steve’s organization as criminals, going after the rich because they wanted the power to themselves, not because the rich in question were corrupted.

Steve could admit they were far from the good guys, but that didn’t mean they were bad people. They did what they did because it was right, because it was necessary and no one else had the guts to do it. Even the police was helpless when it came to the rich and the powerful.

Steve forced himself to stop thinking about it. The truth was, he was nervous about the meeting with Iron Man. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

He was walking down the hallway, about to gather his team, when his phone started pinging. Steve fished it out and on it was a big, red warning sign saying ‘Iron Man In The House’.

Steve had to breathe deeply to calm himself. This was not the worst breach of privacy Iron Man has ever done, and it was common enough that mostly everyone got used to it, but Steve got angry every time it happened.

It was just so typical of Iron Man, to hack into their lives and then pretend that it was friendship. Steve understood the fear of secrets, but they worked together many times by now, so even if they didn’t like each other all that much, trust was something he thought they had, at least a little. Steve knew that he _did_ trust Iron Man at the end of the day, maybe even respected him, relied on him during battle, but at times like this it was obvious that Iron Man didn’t feel the same.

With those thoughts he stormed into the huge hangar they had at their base, where they usually held their meetings with Iron Man, and gritted his teeth when he saw the armored man already talking and laughing with Bruce and Natasha.

As soon as Iron Man caught sight of him, he proclaimed, “There he is. My favorite Captain.”

“Can you not?” Steve snapped, pushing the screen of his phone to Iron Man’s face.

Iron Man took his wrist in his armored hand and distanced the phone away from his face so that he could see it better. As soon as he did, he chuckled, “Come on, it’s just a joke.”

“It’s a breach of privacy. Stop hacking our stuff.”

“Well it’s not like you can stop me,” Iron Man gloated.

And Steve knew that. They tried. Tightened the security, put up viruses, firewalls, all kinds of stuff Steve didn’t really understand. But it was all nothing to Iron Man, he tore through their system like it was child’s play. Maybe for him it was.

At least their identities were secure. No amount of hacking and prying would reveal their names, because they all took precautions, and they didn’t trust anyone easily, and so their names were hidden absolutely nowhere, only said through words. It was a small comfort, but a comfort all the same.

“This is no time for childish games. We have a lead.”

“Yes, your lovely Widow already explained. So we’re dealing with the Mandarin.”

Something about his tone, even modulated, made Steve frown, “You heard of him?”

“Something like that,” the man murmured.

Before Steve could prod for more Natasha interrupted, “So we were thinking about sending him to Hell’s Kitchen, have him look around and send us data.”

“And what would _we_ do?” asked Steve.

“We would analyze the data and hopefully help him track down the location,” said Bruce. He already had a tablet in his hands and Steve saw a map displayed. They were probably discussing the places Iron Man should hit first.

“We could help, send a team down, expand the searching area,” Steve said, already thinking about who to send. He might go himself, he was itching for some action lately.

“With all due respect, Captain,” said Iron Man, “but that won’t be necessary.”

“And why is that?” said Steve calmly. At least he hoped it was calmly.

“Because you’re only going to slow me down. You can’t cover enough ground on foot and if you get caught, it’s over, we’re back at zero.”

“We wouldn’t get caught,” Steve scowled.

“Oh, really?” said Iron Man and Steve could imagine the man inside raising an eyebrow.

“Besides, who said _you_ wouldn’t get caught?” Steve countered. It was a weak argument but he couldn’t let it die.

“Well, let me see, maybe my super stealthy, flying suit of armor?” Iron Man wondered sarcastically.

“Yes, it’s very stealthy, all red and gold like that,” Steve shot back. He saw Natasha and Bruce exchanging glances but he didn’t care what they thought right now.

“Oh, honey, I thought you knew better than that,” said Iron Man, the amusement clear in his voice.

Steve clenched his jaw. He knew what Iron Man was doing. Trying to rile him up, mock him, patronize him. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“Just get the job done,” Steve said, turning around. He knew he let that go too easily, but in the end, it was not worth it. He just wanted to be done with this conversation.

“Hey, sweetheart, where are you going? We were having so much fun,” called Iron Man.

Steve bit down a swear word, and just waved behind him, trusting Bruce and Natasha to finish things up with Iron Man.

Once outside the room, Steve leaned on the wall and closed his eyes. This whole thing was becoming very tiring. It was too late now, but maybe tomorrow he would go outside and just spend the day however he wanted to, not worrying about bad guys or insufferable men in high tech suits of armor.

* * *

It was one of the first truly sunny days this year, spring being slow to show.

Steve was in civilian clothing, just walking through the city, thinking about nothing.

It’s been a while since he let himself have this, always on high alert at the compound, always busy, always working.

It was a given though, since he was sort of in charge, even if not officially. The organization wasn’t exactly legal, but over the years they made up a system, and it worked for them. Steve would trust his team with his life. They were all like him. Beaten and broken and betrayed and now they wanted justice and Steve was the only one willing to do what needed to be done for that justice to be served.

So they followed him, and believed in him, and Steve was grateful every day for them, because he knew that he could never do this alone.

And so they became sort of infamous, the Captain and his crew, taking down evil corporations and the treats in this city.

Vigilantes of sort.

Steve didn’t like the term.

It made them sound like heroes when that was the last thing they were.

But he could admit it was nice. Having that recognition from the city they were trying to protect. Even the police respected them, even when they had to try and arrest them.

But no matter how much he liked his night job, he knew that he put his life to the backburner and maybe he shouldn’t have. He couldn’t be the Captain all the time, even when being Steve Rogers seemed like a harder job to do.

Maybe he should stop thinking about his life as a job. Maybe he should get a life in the first place.

But Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to. He liked having a purpose, having something to fight for, something to protect.

Steve Rogers didn’t have a purpose. He had lazy days of wondering through the city every once in a while and that was enough for him.

And today was one of those days. They could do nothing but wait for Iron Man’s return and Steve was already getting impatient.

He thought about just going back to the compound to see if there were any news, but he knew they would call him back if anything important happened, and he kind of wanted to enjoy the day for a little while longer.

Lost in thought, he didn’t even realize he wandered off toward the Stark Tower. The building was hard to miss, looming over everything. It was modern in a way that showed you exactly what future was going to look like.

Steve was an old-fashioned guy, but he could see how a building like that belonged to a man like Tony Stark. The man was not called a futurist for no reason.

The coffee shop across the Tower was big and expensive, not usually Steve’s type. But he was already there and the view was amazing, so he decided to treat himself.

It was full of people, which wasn’t a surprise. With its location and modern style, it was bound to appeal to young people and elite society who had nothing better to do with their days.

Steve felt a bit like an outsider among these people, but he didn’t let that bother him. Nobody paid him any attention anyway, so after buying his coffee, he sat outside on the terrace and decided to draw. It was very rare these days that he found the time for it, and it was one of the only things that made him feel like Steve Rogers and not the Captain.

It was a good thing he brought his sketchbook, though he didn’t plan in advance to do any drawing done today. He still liked having it with him, for when the mood struck and the timing aligned.

This was one of those times apparently and soon Steve was lost in the drawing, in the lines and the curves, in the light and dark shades his pencil left on the paper.

New York City, the Stark Tower at its center. It was simplistic but Steve liked drawing what he could see, and the Tower was hard to miss from where he was sitting.

“That’s quite a talent you’ve got there,” an amused voice said, just over his shoulder.

Steve looked up surprised. He was always aware of his surroundings, and he knew people were walking around him in the café, but how he managed to miss Tony Stark looking over his shoulder at his drawing, he wasn’t quite sure.

“Mr. Stark,” he said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. He didn’t really expect to see the man again, especially so soon and so randomly. It was more than a little surprising.

“Steve Rogers,” Stark said, as if he was remembering the name as he spoke it. He was out of the expensive, tailored suit he was wearing at the gala, but he still managed to look overly put together just wearing faded jeans and a T-shirt with a logo that Steve didn’t recognize. He also had a fancy coat on which didn’t seem to match at all with the rest of his outfit but still somehow suited him.

Steve realized he was staring and Stark was looking more amused by the minute so Steve blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “What are you doing here?”

Stark raised an eyebrow. “I live close by,” he said, pointedly. Steve flushed. Of course that it was normal for Stark to go to the café that was across the street from his Tower. “Mind if I sit?” Stark asked when it was obvious that Steve’s brain would still need a few seconds to reboot.

Steve just nodded and watched a little helplessly as Stark sat down across from him, casually, as if they were old friends meeting up for coffee.

Now that Steve could take a closer look at him, Stark didn’t look as put together as Steve had originally thought. He looked tired, that bone deep exhaustion that only came with no sleep for extended periods of time paired with constant work. Steve didn’t know how a man with no working hours could not find the time to sleep, but maybe he underestimated what it took to own a billion dollar company. If you judged it by looking at Stark, it didn’t really seem like an easy job.

“So, you’re an artist?” Stark prompted. He didn’t really seem bothered by Steve’s lack of words, as if used to people being left speechless in his wake.

“I am, yes,” Steve said. Steve Rogers was officially just a small-time artist living in Brooklyn. He wasn’t well known but the pieces he managed to sell were enough to keep him afloat. It was a cover he was happy with, since he didn’t like to lie too much to people (his night job made him do that enough as it was) so setting up a real, small business and selling some of his paintings wasn’t really a hardship in the end. It wasn’t even that hard keeping up with it since he wasn’t that well-known.

“That’s nice,” Stark said. He took a sip of the coffee Steve didn’t even realize he had in his hand, then continued, “I meant what I said, you’ve got some real talent. I’m not really an art person but even I can tell. I’ll recommend you to Pepper, she’ll appreciate it more.” The casual stream of words seemed so out of place coming from someone like Stark that Steve had to take a second to convince himself he wasn’t imagining things.

The thing was… Steve met a lot of people like Stark. It was in his job description after all (the illegal one, of course). Rich and powerful, raised in the wealth. They always looked at other people like they were beneath them. It was one of the reasons Steve disliked them so much. They all seemed so alike. Money was the only thing they cared about.

And then Stark. He was supposed to be the worst of them. And yet, here he was, sitting down with a man he met only once before, basically a stranger, in casual wear, looking tired, and talking like they did this every day. Complimenting Steve’s art.

Steve looked down. The drawing, which until that point seemed elegant and beautiful, now seemed small and undeserving. “This is really nothing,” Steve said, grimacing at his sketchbook.

“Well I’d love to see some of your bigger pieces then,” Stark said without missing a beat. “So, I’ve got to ask. What brings _you_ here?”

Steve blinked. He wasn’t sure. “I was in the neighborhood. And I like the view,” he said, nodding towards Stark Tower.

“Right,” Stark said. He took another sip of his drink, looking at Steve, contemplating something. Steve had no idea what was going on in his head. “Another question. Up for it?”

Steve wasn’t sure why Stark was asking that. He seemed to be going from topic to topic without a pause, asking questions, carrying a conversation almost all by himself. His brain worked very fast and Steve doubted this was his first cup of coffee.

“Of course, ask anything Mr. Stark,” Steve said, curious despite himself.

Stark grimaced. “Tony, please.”

Steve paused. He tried to think if any businessman ever, big or small, had ever asked him to call them by their first name. He didn’t have to have a perfect memory to know that the answer was _no_. Still, he said, “Tony,” waiting to see what’ll happen.

Stark – Tony? Should he call him Tony is his head now too? – smiled. “That’s better. Anyway, where was I?”

“You wanted to ask me a question?” Steve prompted.

“Right. Well, I was just wondering,” and Stark – Tony – got that look in his eyes again, contemplating, curious. “What was a small-time artist from Brooklyn doing at a charity gala that makes rich, powerful people give away all their money?” despite the words, Tony didn’t actually look like he was suspicious. Just wondering, believing that Steve will have some innocent answer ready.

Steve didn’t. And he should figure out what to say before Stark – Tony, dammit – gets suspicious. He didn’t want to know what a man with his influence and intelligence would be able to dig up on Steve.

Then he remembered something. It was risky, but he didn’t have much choice. “I… I was actually a plus one to my friends. She didn’t want to go alone so she asked me if I’ll go with her. It’s not usually my scene but I didn’t want her to go alone, so…” Steve trailed off. He took a sip from his own coffee to hide his nerves. It was cold and Steve wondered how long he had been sitting there when Tony found him.

“Oh? And who is your friend?” Tony asked. He didn’t look like he doubted the story at all, which was good.

“Janet Van Dyne,” Steve said. It was a very risky name to use but he didn’t have another one. Janet Van Dyne, while not on his team, was sort of an honorary member. Ever since Steve and his team saved her husband’s very dangerous and important blueprints from being stolen, Janet was very grateful and very persistent in joining their ranks. She was fierce and determined and powerful all on her own, but she was a civilian and innocent and Steve couldn’t risk her. But every now and then when they needed it, she was always willing to help. She was the one who enabled them entrance to the gala by making sure their fake names made it onto the guest list.

And while she has been a great help to them, there was one important piece of information that made it very dangerous saying that name to Tony Stark. And it was that Janet Van Dyne didn’t know their secret identities. She didn’t know who the Captain was. So saying her name as Steve Rogers was not a smart idea. He could only hope that Tony didn’t know her well enough.

No such luck. As soon as her name left his lips, Tony’s smile grew wider, in a way that showed fondness and affection. “Jan!” Tony exclaimed, bright and happy. “She’s a good friend of mine as well. How do you know her?”

Well fuck. Steve wasn’t one for cursing but he felt like it now. “Purely by accident,” Steve said, making it up as he went along, “It was some gallery exhibition or something, I can’t really remember it anymore. We sort of started to talk about art and the next thing I knew, she adopted me.” Steve smiled shyly, the way Natasha would sometimes when she was lying through her teeth.

Tony laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine.” He laid back in his chair, fiddling with his by now empty cup, and continued looking at Steve like he was a mystery. “Poor Hank, he couldn’t have been too happy about Jan taking you to the gala.”

Steve didn’t know much about Hank Pym, having never met the man in person, but if the way Janet spoke about him was any indication, the man was brilliant if a little sporadic. But he was her husband so maybe she was a little biased.

“He had some project he had to work on, that’s why Janet took me in the first place,” Steve said. He hoped he wasn’t too off the mark.

Seems not. Tony just smiled knowingly. “He should really devote more time to her. He’s not gonna find anyone who can tolerate him the way she can.”

Steve shrugged. He didn’t want to risk saying anything wrong. It was bad enough Tony knew her. “So, do you talk to Janet often?” Steve asked, having to know.

Tony hummed. “Not as often as I would have liked. We’re both very busy people.”

It wasn’t ideal, but Steve would just have to hope he was lucky enough not to have this bite him in the ass.

He was just thinking of diverging the topic to a safer direction, when Tony’s phone went off. Tony gave him an apologetic smile and then fished the phone out of his pocket. He looked at it for a second then sighed. “Well. Looks like I’ll have to cut this short. Duty calls. Or, well. Pepper. But same thing.”

Steve was surprised at how disappointed he felt. Even when the conversation was a mind field to him, he still enjoyed it, just being in the presence of this man, who seemed more and more like a walking contradiction every time Steve talked to him. It was so refreshing after the people Steve had to usually deal with, that he didn’t want to ever stop talking to him.

But he knew better. Stark was busy and dangerous and Steve should keep away.

But as he stood to leave and looked at Steve, again with that apologetic smile, Steve could only see Tony, who was magnetic and interesting and who he definitely wanted to know better.

But before he could ask if they could see each other again, or ask him for a phone number at least, Tony was saying “Bye, Steve,” and was gone, as quickly as he came, leaving nothing behind but a sense of wonder and confusion.

It was a feeling Steve though he could get used to.

But there was no point in dwelling on it. Tony was gone, and Steve was left, once again, wondering if he was ever going to see him again.

It was only a few hours later, as he was nearing the base, having walked the entire way to clear his head, that he remembered, having replayed their conversation over and over again, that Tony had known he was from Brooklyn without Steve having told him so.

* * *

Walking into the base felt surreal after the day he had. It felt like that sometimes when he was Steve Rogers for too long, going back to being the Captain, being in control.

Putting the uniform on, cowl over his head, always felt like stepping back into himself. It was freeing in a way. He had a clear path as the Captain, while as Steve he sort of drifted off, unsure.

It probably wasn’t healthy to separate the two personas as much, but sometimes he thought it was the only thing keeping him sane.

The long walk through the hallway felt like forever. He was ready to get to work. Hopefully Iron Man brought them some news so that they could finally continue with their plans.

When he walked into the big conference room, Natasha and Clint were already there, discussing something in low tones.

“Any news from Iron Man?” he asked as he got near them.

Natasha shook her head, “Not yet.”

Clint frowned, “He probably didn’t find anything yet, it’s only been a day.”

“Well he better hurry, because we don’t have much time,” Steve said.

“I’m sure he’s doing his best,” said Natasha, smirking. For some reason it always brought her joy to push Steve’s buttons when it came to Iron Man.

Steve was about to retort when a familiar warning sign flashed on the computer.

“Speak of the devil,” Natasha murmured, sitting down and typing something too fast for Steve to catch.

Suddenly Iron Man’s faceplate came into view.

“Hello, darling,” he drawled. Not much could be seen behind him, apart from what appeared to be some heavy machinery and gadgets that made no sense to Steve. It was probably the man’s workshop and Steve was surprised he was letting them see even this much. Iron Man was very guarded when it came to his identity or anything revolving his personal life, and it was the one thing that he and Steve could agree on.

“Iron Man,” Steve said professionally. “Any news?”

“Down to business already, huh? People usually offer me a drink first, you know,” Iron Man said, amused.

Steve wasn’t. He raised an eyebrow and Iron Man sighed. Is sounded like static from his voice modulator.

“You’re no fun,” he muttered, then said louder, “I’ve narrowed down the place of the meeting. We could go today, start at opposite sides and move to the center, trapping them in the middle. Should be fairly easy to subdue them.”

Steve nodded, “Let’s meet here to discuss it further. We should have enough time to make a plan for tonight.”

Iron Man scoffed. “I just told you the plan. We don’t need to discuss anything. I give you the coordinates, we arrange the time, and we’ll meet there.”

Steve clenched his jaw, “We can’t just go in, guns blazing, and hope for the best. We need a plan.”

Iron Man looked to the side. His faceplate looked stoic, cold, but his tense stance and jerked movements indicated that the man inside was anything but. “You do that then. I’m too busy to plan something as straightforward as this. If you want to waste your time then by all means…”

Steve opened his mouth to retort but before he could Iron Man disconnected the video feed and left them with a blank screen.

Natasha looked up at him, “That went well.”

Steve shook his head, “He is the most frustrating man I have ever met.” He pulled back his cowl and sat down. He was getting tired of all the fighting. “Call the meeting in the briefing room. We have a plan to make.”

“What about Iron Man?” Clint asked.

“We’ll brief him before we move tonight. Hopefully there’ll be enough time,” Steve said. He was learning to pick his battles.

* * *

The mission, in the end, wasn’t a complete failure even it if wasn’t a success either.

While most of the bad guys managed to get away, they did capture enough of them to ensure someone would have necessary information, even if extracting it wouldn’t be fun. Steve was always grateful to Natasha for stepping in when the prisoners started to get difficult.

Iron Man, while helpful in a fight, didn’t stay long after all was said and done. Barely making sure they got the situation under control, he flew away, making excuses in the air, before cutting the communication completely.

Steve left it alone. It was already a miracle they hadn’t bitten each other’s heads off during the mission, he wasn’t going to press his luck any further.

The drive back to the base was uneventful, as it usually was after a mission. The Quinjet was quiet and peaceful, a stark contrast to the loudness of the battle.

After making sure everyone was okay and uninjured, Steve sat down in the corner and pulled up data from the fight that Bruce had put together.

He felt, more than saw, Natasha coming to sit next to him, quiet and graceful as she always was.

“You okay?” she asked, not exactly a whisper, but quiet enough not to disturb the stillness in the Quinjet.

“Fine,” he answered, his voice sounding loud and raspy in the quiet, despite how hard he tried to make it soft like hers.

She smiled. It was a rare thing, Natasha’s smile. He wondered what he did to deserve it. “You seem distracted, Steve. What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asked it playfully, giving him an opportunity to do the same if he so wished, but he could hear concern behind those words and didn’t want to dismiss it.

“Just got a lot on my mind, is all,” he said carefully. She didn’t answer, letting him decide whether he wanted to continue or not. “I just want to be done with Hammer, you know? The guy’s been managing to avoid us for far too long.” She nodded, and while he could tell she knew that wasn’t everything, she still didn’t push. Which in the end made him blurt out, “I saw Tony again.”

She raised her eyebrows, which for a normal person wouldn’t be a strong reaction, but coming from her it showed exactly how surprised she was. “So it’s Tony now, huh?” she asked. When he didn’t answer she prompted, “Where?”

“Coffee shop,” he murmured.

Now she frowned. “That’s random,” her words were casual, but her voice was suspicious.

Steve shook his head, “It was the coffee shop across his Tower.”

“What were you doing there?” she was looking at him intently, trying to figure him out. Steve wanted to tell her to let him know if she does, since he was unsure himself.

“Drawing?” he asked innocently. She wasn’t buying it.

“Just be careful, Steve,” she said. She left it at that, but he knew that she meant so much more. It was a dangerous thing, getting involved with someone like Stark, even a little bit. Even just for a cup of coffee. Steve already risked a lot by giving away Janet’s name. Who knew how long before someone as brilliant as Stark figures it out. Steve was going to have to be very careful indeed.

That is, if he ever saw Tony again.

Somehow, this time, the thought seemed more likely than not.

* * *

A few days later, Steve was at his apartment, on his old laptop, staring at his art website, completely in shock. Most of the art works he had up were sold, and whoever bought them paid much more than the original price was.

It was obvious why once he checked who the buyer was.

He was left staring at the name for a few minutes longer, not believing. It was then that his phone went off. Without thinking much about it, he picked it up and read the message.

_I was right, Pepper loves them._

_I’m putting the one of Iron Man in the front lobby._

_TS_

Steve laughed in disbelief. He wasn’t even that surprised that Tony somehow managed to get his number, since this seemed to be his life now.

 _I’m glad she likes them_ , he typed. _And I’ll believe that when I see it_.

He hesitated before hitting send. It seemed bold, somehow, having this casual, almost flirty, conversation with Tony Stark.

 _You should come and see it, then,_ was the response.

Steve almost stopped breathing. It seemed impossible, him in the lobby of Stark Tower. Looking at a picture he painted, right there on the display, for all to see.

 _Maybe I will_ , he wrote and sent before he could lose his nerve.

He didn’t really expect anything to come of it. Tony had to be a busy person, running one of the biggest companies in the country, if not the world. It was just Steve’s luck that he managed to get on his radar at all.

Steve’s phone rang with a message.

And it was dangerous as well. Steve’s night job was always going to be a priority. And keeping it a secret from someone like Stark would not be in any way easy.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

Like he said. Tony was a busy person. Steve was just a poor artist from Brooklyn. Not someone Tony Stark would take an interest to.

 _How bout Sunday?_ the message read.

Well, shit.

* * *

Steve knocked.

It was always a bit nerve wracking to be at the SHIELD headquarters, him being who he was. It didn’t matter that the chance of someone figuring out his identity was as likely as an alien invasion.

But they were dealing with SHIELD here, so Steve wasn’t so sure how likely that actually was.

He’s been here often enough, though, that no one even gave him a second glance anymore. It was a problem at the beginning, people being outraged at a civilian walking down some of the most classified hallways in the world. But having friends at high places had its perks.

Speaking of, a soft, “Come in,” made him open the door and smile at the obviously overworked, but still looking composed as ever, Peggy Carter.

“You work too much,” he said, as she returned his smile and got up to greet him.

“Takes one to know one,” she replied, giving him a big hug. “Steve, it’s been a while. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

She sat back in her chair, gesturing at him to take a seat opposite her. It always felt a bit like being in the principal’s office, but he liked the way the authority suited her.

“Can’t I just visit an old friend?” he asked, innocently.

Truth was, Peggy was more than just a friend to him. They tried dating, way back when, and he thought she would be the one for him.

It didn’t work out for them in the end, sadly. But he was always going to love her.

“You could,” she said, knowingly, “but you’re not.”

Steve sighed. “No, I’m not.”

“Is this about your little group?” she asked, growing serious. They never explicitly talked about it at SHIELD. Too many prying eyes, too many walls having ears.

She knew everything about it, of course. It was dangerous, what with her working at SHIELD, but it gave them an advantage, one that saved them many times before. He knew she was risking a lot just knowing about it, and he was grateful to her every day for helping them regardless.

She did always believe in him. Steve didn’t know how to repay her.

“Sort of,” he said.

She nodded, “How about we go get a cup of coffee. I’ve been needing a break, anyway.”

He smiled, thankful, “Lead the way.”

They walked to the little coffee shop located near the HQ. It was nice catching up with Peggy, having small talk and not worrying too much about what he could say. It was always easy to talk to her, despite the circumstances.

“And how’s Daniel? Still bothering you?” he asked as they entered the little shop.

Peggy smiled, a small, soft thing, like the one she used to direct at him when they first started dating. Steve was glad she found someone to smile at like that again. “He’s doing fine, thank you. And you? Anyone knocked you off your feet yet?” she said it like she already resigned herself to hearing _no_. It was an often argument between the two of them. Her insisting he should find someone, him saying he had no time nor desire to do so with the line of work he was in.

But this time, the answer wasn’t no. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” he said as casually as possible. She didn’t seem fazed for a moment, until his words sank in, and she turned to look at him abruptly. She opened her mouth to comment, but the line before her cleared up and he nudged her toward the cashier, “It’s your turn.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, her look saying ‘this conversation isn’t over’ then turned to order her coffee.

Once they both had steaming cups in their hands, they went outside and started walking in a mindless direction. They preferred walking and talking to sitting down, partly because of the nice day and partly because you never knew who could be near, eavesdropping.

“So,” Peggy began. “Who are they?”

Steve bit his lip. He wasn’t sure where to start. “It’s complicated,” he settled on.

“Steve, it’s you. I’d be surprised if it weren’t.”

He chuckled. She _was_ right. “Yes, but this just seems… so impossible, you know? Like I’m making it something that it isn’t, in my head.”

“Well, it might be worth a try,” she said. “And who knows, maybe it goes somewhere.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he mumbled.

“Steve,” her voice was soft, sympathetic. “You have to stop being afraid of love.”

“Trust me, if that was my only problem, I’d be happy,” he shook his head. The sun was high in the sky, but his mood didn’t let him enjoy it.

“What’s the problem, then?” she asked. He liked that about her, always cutting right to the chase.

“Well,” he began, hesitantly. “What if he figures out who I am?”

She raised an eyebrow, “I’m sure you can keep a secret until you’re comfortable enough to tell him.”

“You think I should?” he looked at her. “Tell him, that is.”

“Eventually,” she nodded. “You would have to. I can’t imagine keeping something like that a secret, especially if it becomes serious.”

“Becomes serious,” he repeated, dully. “God, I don’t even know if he likes me. Or if he’s not only after a one night stand. I’m getting ahead of myself, Peggy. But I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s like a mystery I want to unravel, a case I want to solve. I can’t remember the last time I felt like that.”

There was a beat of silence before he looked back up at her. She had a small, surprised smile on her face. “Honestly, I was starting to think I’d never live to see the day,” she said when she caught him looking. At his confused frown, she elaborated, “You having feelings for someone.”

“Is it really that surprising?” he asked.

“Steve, you know I love you, but you’re practically married to your job. It’s not healthy. And yes,” she added when he opened his mouth, “I know that what you’re doing is important, but it’s time for you to get a life,” there was amusement it her eyes. “And it sounds like you really care about this guy. So just go for it.”

“But what if…”

She didn’t him finish, “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“I’m not sure I should,” he said.

“Why not? Steve, let yourself be happy for once.”

“He can’t know who I am, Peg. He can’t figure it out.”

“Why not?” she asked. “I’m not saying you should tell him right away. But if it does get serious and you’ll trust him enough to keep your secrets, well…”

“He’s a dangerous man to know my secrets,” Steve said. “And smart enough to figure them out before I’m ready to tell him.”

Peggy was now looking straight ahead, trying to process it all. “Steve. Who is he?”

There it was. Truth time. “Tony Stark.”

She stopped abruptly. He wished to continue walking, feeling more exposed standing like that, in the middle of the street. But she didn’t look like she was going to start moving any time soon. She was staring at him like he lost his head.

“I beg your pardon?” she asked finally, eyes wide.

“You heard right,” he said.

“I couldn’t have possibly,” she said. “Bloody hell, Steve, how did you even manage to meet Tony Stark?” then she seemed to realize something. “Was it for a job? Are you targeting him?”

“No!” he exclaimed. “Nothing like that. I did met him on a job, but he’s not a suspect,” he added.

“Still,” she said, “You never know. Didn’t you say that no one was innocent until proven guilty?”

“He’s different, Peggy,” Steve said. “I think he really might be.”

She shook her head, still in wonder. “I need to hear this story. From the beginning.”

So he told her everything.

Later, when they were on the way back to SHIELD HQ she said, “You know, maybe it _is_ worth a try.”

“Really?” he asked. “Don’t you think it’s too dangerous?”

“Perhaps,” she smiled. It was deadly. “But when has that ever stopped you?”

* * *

Late Sunday evening found him in front of the Stark Tower, hands sweaty, heart racing.

He has been less nervous going into missions. He didn’t know what it was. He only met the man twice, he should not be feeling this way. He should be running for the hills, not wanting more.

He steeled himself. Then got inside. Then almost laughed out loud.

His Iron Man painting stood right in the middle of the wall, straight ahead. It would be impossible to miss it, walking in.

He was proud of it, he could admit it. Despite his disagreements with the man inside, that armor was a piece of art, and Steve had always been fascinated with it.

It was still weird, seeing it displayed like this. In a place crowded with people, where everyone can just stare at it. Sort of like he was doing right now.

But before he could take his eyes away, a voice behind him said, “It is a masterpiece, isn’t it?”

Steve turned and there he was, Tony Stark himself, in ripped jeans and a band T-shirt, looking nothing like an unapproachable billionaire the media set him up to be.

“I’m not quite sure about that,” said Steve. “But I do think it’s one of my best.”

Tony smirked, “Hot _and_ humble? What a rare and attractive combination.”

Steve could almost feel his cheeks starting to burn, despite the fact that he hadn’t blushed since he was in middle school. How was Tony Stark managing to make him feel like a damn teenager again?

“Why this painting, though?” he asked, curious. “Big fan of Iron Man?”

Tony smiled. “I’m an engineer, Rogers. And that armor is, like, every engineer’s wet dream. State-of-the-art, highly advanced, gorgeous color scheme if I might add,” another smile at Steve’s laugh. “Of course I’m a fan.”

“Have you ever met him?” Steve asked. Despite his dislike for the man inside the armor, he could see why Tony would like the idea of him, an armored vigilante, using tech to save the world.

“I haven’t had the pleasure, no,” Tony said. “But who knows. Maybe one day I’ll have a chance to pick his brain a little.”

“You think he would tell you his secrets?” said Steve, jokingly.

But Tony shook his head, “If I had a thing like that, I wouldn’t tell anyone about it either.”

“Why not?” Steve asked.

He was looking at Tony, but the man was now focused solely on the painting. “Can you imagine?” he asked softly. “A weapon like that in the wrong hands?”

Before Steve could figure out an answer to that, Tony was already moving, pointing to a row of elevators, “How about I give you the rest of the tour?”

“Are you saying the Iron Man painting isn’t the only thing worth seeing here?” Steve joked. Then panicked that he went too far, but Tony only laughed.

“Wait till you see the view.”

The elevator they went in had no buttons, but it started moving as soon as Steve and Tony came inside. Steve didn’t think an elevator could look sleek and modern, yet somehow this one managed.

Tony grinned when he saw Steve looking around.

“How come there are no buttons?” Steve couldn’t help bus ask.

“Because this elevator only goes to one floor,” at Steve’s questioning look he added, “The penthouse.”

“Right,” Steve said. It didn’t really explain how the elevator knew to start moving but he wasn’t going to risk asking another, potentially embarrassing, question.

The elevator doors opened before Steve even realized they stopped moving. And then they were in the penthouse.

It was… huge. Modern. Everything you’d imagine when thinking about the place someone like Tony Stark might live, and more. Yet it wasn’t cold or unwelcoming. It seemed lived in, in a way that places that looked like this rarely were.

And then there was the view. The windows covered the entire wall and it almost looked like they weren’t there at all, like there was nothing between them and New York City below.

He turned to look at Tony, who went up to the bar, preparing them drinks. “What do you want to drink?” he asked. “Whiskey? Champagne?”

“Anything is fine,” said Steve, turning back toward the view.

A few moment later, Tony came up to stand next to him, giving him the glass. Steve noticed it was champagne. He liked the choice.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, staring at the city below. He could also see the two of them, each with a glass in hand, reflected in the glass. It would make for a beautiful painting.

“It is, isn’t it,” said Tony. “There’s nothing quite like New York at night.”

Steve hummed his agreement, sipping at the champagne. He wasn’t quite sure where to go from here, but Tony didn’t seem to have the same problem, steering them toward the couch and sitting down, close but not yet touching.

“So, Steve Rogers,” Tony began. “Tell me something about yourself.”

Steve smiled. “What would you like to know?”

“Anything,” Tony said. “Everything.”

Steve hesitated. Peggy was right when she said that he didn’t have a life outside of his job. He had nothing but his art, and they already discussed that. Bringing it up again might seem like he was fishing for compliments.

Tony seemed to notice his hesitation. “Let’s start easy. Favorite color?”

“Blue,” Steve said. “Yours?”

“Hmm,” Tony sipped at his champagne. “Red.”

And then they were off, talking about everything and nothing, from favorite movies to Tony’s atrocious taste in music. Steve couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so hard. Tony was funny, witty and unbearably attractive, and the champagne they were drinking made everything feel light and easy.

Steve truly couldn’t remember the last time anything in his life felt light and easy.

“Steve,” Tony said, when there was a lull in the conversation. “You said you like the view, didn’t you?”

Steve raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was going. “I _did_ say I like the view, Tony.”

“Good,” smirked Tony. “You should see the one from my bedroom.”

Steve choked on his drink. “You move fast, don’t you?” he said with a laugh, leaving his half-full glass on the table, next to Tony’s.

“I do everything fast,” he responded, with a gleam in his eyes. “Can you keep up?”

Steve didn’t respond. Didn’t even think, really. He didn’t know whether to blame it on the champagne or whether Tony’s presence made him do reckless things, but before he knew what he was doing, he was grabbing Tony’s shirt and smashing their mouths together.

It was uncoordinated and messy, until Tony huffed a laugh, shifted, and aligned Steve’s head to a better position. And then they were really kissing, Steve letting Tony take control. He was good at it, surprisingly so, though Steve figured a guy like Tony probably had a lot of experience.

Tony pushed Steve back against the couch, affectively straddling him, and Steve could do nothing but grip his waist and try and keep up with the pace.

“So,” Tony murmured against his lips. “How about that view?”

Steve grinned. “Lead the way.”

* * *

Steve picked up the pace in the long hallway on his way to the briefing room. He wasn’t technically late, but he was known for usually getting there early, so the fact that he wasn’t there yet might raise a few eyebrows.

He was adjusting his uniform as he walked, having sped through putting it on as well.

When he walked through the briefing room doors, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Thor and Sam were already there, and they turned to look at him expectedly.

Steve cleared his throat. “Good morning.”

There were a few murmurs of ‘morning’ before Clint said, “Someone’s late.”

“No, I’m not,” Steve said, sitting down at the head of the table. “It’s not 9 yet.”

“It will be in 5 minutes,” Natasha said pointedly.

“Yeah, well, traffic was terrible this morning,” Steve said, having practiced that excuse in his head before coming here.

“Traffic is always terrible, Steve,” said Natasha, cutting through his excuses without even blinking.

Steve shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t need to explain himself to them. But that apparently only made him more suspicious, as Clint and Natasha exchanged meaningful glances and even Bruce and Sam looked intrigued.

“Shall we begin?” he asked casually. When no one answered, he began, “Okay, so we should start with…”

“Discussing where you’ve been?” interrupted Natasha with a smirk.

“That’s none of your business,” he said, as calmly as possible.

“Oh, so you’ve been somewhere,” smiled Clint, then high fived Natasha.

“Guys, come on, give him a break,” said Bruce. He always was the calm one in any situation. Steve was grateful for it.

“Thanks, Bruce,” Steve said. “Anyway…”

“Wait, where do you guys think he’s been?” this time it was Sam who interrupted, directing his question at Natasha and Clint.

“Oh, man, you’ve missed so much,” laughed Clint. Sam had a family emergency back in DC so he had to fly back home for a few weeks.

“I thought you guys briefed him?” Steve asked. He didn’t feel like going over the missions again, but if Sam was out of the loop, they would have to.

“Bruce did, which means he left out all the juicy parts,” said Clint.

“What juicy parts?” asked Sam, now invested.

“Can we drop it? There are no juicy parts,” Steve snapped, feeling ridiculous.

Despite Sam looking like he desperately wanted to hear the story now, they seemed to give up, Clint even raising his hands in mock surrender.

Before Steve could start speaking for the third time though, Thor decided to join in the conversation. “Oh, is this about Captain’s thing with Tony Stark?”

“Tony Stark?” Sam exclaimed. He looked at Natasha and Clint’s amused expressions. “Wait, did you guys find dirt on him?” he sounded bewildered and a little bit excited. If Tony Stark was really found dealing under the table, it would be a big deal, not just for them as an organization, but the corporate businesses as well. Stark Industries was too big not to have an effect on everyone if it ever went down.

Steve tried not to come off as too defensive. Sam didn’t know any better, after all. “No. There is no thing with Tony Stark, okay? And we didn’t find anything on him either.”

“So, what then?” Sam asked.

Before Steve could respond, Clint exclaimed, “Oh, Steve is sleeping with him.”

There was a moment of pause after those words. Sam looked like he stepped inside an alternate reality, while others looked mildly amused.

Steve stuttered, “I’m not… How did you… Where did you get that from?”

“It’s just, you seem…” Clint paused, as if looking for a word, then turned toward Natasha, “What’s the word, Tasha?”

“Radiant?” she asked, innocently.

“Yes,” Clint snapped his fingers. “Radiant.”

Steve blinked. “No, I don’t,” he said in a strangled voice.

Clint smiled. “Maybe not, but your reaction tells us everything.”

Steve huffed. “That’s what you think,” he said, just to be defiant. He glared at Natasha because she was the one who must have told Clint and Thor about his accidental coffee meeting with Tony. She shrugged. He knew she meant well, but he really wished she had kept that information to herself. “How about you stop speculating who I’m sleeping with, and concentrate on the issue at hand?” he asked sternly.

They acquiesced, and Natasha started reading the reports from the last two missions.

Steve sighed and tuned her out. He wrote most of those reports anyway.

Instead, his thoughts turned to this morning.

He had woken up, unsure. Tony was on the other side of the bed, curled around a pillow, his back to Steve. The sheet was barely covering his hips and Steve couldn’t help but stare. Tony had insisted on keeping on the shirt the night before, and while Steve had frowned, he didn’t protest, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. But now the shirt had ridden up a little bit, leaving his lower back exposed.

Steve had to force himself to get out of bed.

Tony’s coffee machine, like everything else in the Tower, was modern and elegant. Unfortunately, that didn’t really help Steve with figuring out how to turn the contraption on. It took him solid five minutes to figure it out and just as he was pouring freshly brewed coffee into a mug, Tony walked in.

He had a serious case of bedhead, and his sweatpants hung low on his hips. He was rubbing his eyes. Steve faltered and tried to remember how to breathe.

“Mornin’” Tony mumbled, then promptly stole Steve’s coffee from out of his hands.

Steve was about to protest but Tony’s moan at the first sip of his coffee made his brain short-circuit.

Tony smirked, as if he knew exactly what Steve was thinking.

“I can’t believe you woke up before me,” Tony said, more awake now, as Steve poured himself a new mug.

“I’m an early riser,” Steve responded, finally taking a sip of coffee. He couldn’t help but making a surprised sound at how good it was.

Tony’s smile widened. “Like it?”

Steve just hummed his agreement, drinking more. Once he was done, Tony took both their mugs and left them on the counter before holding Steve’s head with both his hands and bringing their mouths together.

He tasted of coffee and coconut, and Steve couldn’t help but open up for more, hands going around Tony’s waist and bringing them even closer together. They seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces and Steve didn’t even care in that moment that it sounded like a cliché.

“Steve,” someone said, rather loudly, and Steve blinked to find his teammates all looking at him.

“What?” he asked, still stuck in the memory.

“Did you even listen to a word I said?” Natasha narrowed her eyes at him.

Steve cleared his throat. “Well, I wrote those reports, so I know what they say.”

“I’m going to take that as a no,” she said.

“Sorry,” he resisted the urge to clear his throat again. “What were you saying?”

She shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe what was happening to him, and even the others looked puzzled. Steve was known for his concentration and ability to focus, so him spacing out was a new and weird thing to witness.

And Steve couldn’t help but agree. He was distracted, and he shouldn’t be. He had to put Tony out of his mind, at least for now.

Natasha was talking, “Despite the delay, we’re expecting the transport of Mandarin’s people to be here by the end of the week.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. The minions they captured that day in Hell’s Kitchen had to be left behind, since they attracted quite the commotion and they couldn’t risk bringing them on board. Steve knew that leaving them with their friends from Hell’s Kitchen was the right choice, and he trusted them to take care of it, but he was still eager to start the investigation themselves. One of them will have to talk sooner or later, and it will bring them one step closer to Hammer and the Mandarin.

“Thor is overseeing the transport,” Natasha continued.

“Aye,” Thor said, “Everything is going according to plan.”

“Good,” Steve said. “That’s good. Anything else?”

After a brief summery from Bruce about the new shipment received yesterday, of the new equipment he ordered, and Clint’s overview of another target he was following, they were ready to call it a day.

“Any news from Bucky?” Steve asked as they were gathering their things.

“He said he’s making progress but he didn’t want to indulge any details,” Natasha said with a wry twist to her lips.

Bucky was on a personal mission in Russia. Steve tried to plead with him to stay, help him run the organization. But in the end, he knew this was something Bucky had to do. Hunt down the people responsible for what had happened to him. Steve wanted to see them brought down almost as much as Bucky did. Still, it was a constant ache, being without his best friend, and one he had learn to deal with over time.

“Well, as long as he’s alright,” Steve said on a sigh.

Natasha didn’t say anything, but then again, she didn’t need to. She missed Bucky as well.

“Come on,” he said after a minute, “We have work to do.”

* * *

Steve couldn’t stop looking around.

It’s not like he had never been in a restaurant before. He’d been to plenty, thank you very much.

Admittedly, not very recently, but still, he had been to quite a few restaurants in his life, and not all of them had been shabby and cheap.

For their first year anniversary, he took Peggy to this really fancy place that Natasha had recommended to him. Yes, he had had to save money for a few months to be able to afford it, but it was worth it in the end, if for nothing else but Peggy’s smile that didn’t go away for the entire night.

And yet, it didn’t come close to the place that Tony took him to.

There weren’t a lot of people inside, but there weren’t a lot of tables either, especially for such a huge space. They had complete privacy, with the best spot in the restaurant. The candle on the table was reflected on the window beside them, along with the huge chandeliers overtop.

Steve looked back at the menu. The prices weren’t written, and the names of the dishes didn’t make any sense. Steve was so out of his element, and after five minutes of staring at the menu in total silence, he still didn’t know what to order.

Before he could just settle for a random dish and hope for the best, Tony chimed in, “How about I order for you?”

Steve didn’t sigh in relief, but it was a near thing. “Yes, please.”

Tony smiled fondly and called on the waiter, who seemed to be standing there just for them.

Tony looked relaxed, elegant. It was easy to see him as a billionaire businessman here in this place. And yet, that didn’t mean he wasn’t also kind and generous and witty and outrageously clever.

Steve almost couldn’t believe it when Tony had called him and asked for a second date.

Steve wasn’t stupid. He knew he had nothing much to offer to someone like Tony Stark. One night stand seemed like the most likely outcome, and Steve counted himself lucky he even got a chance to just talk to Tony for a few hours in his Tower beforehand.

And as intriguing and funny as Tony was, Steve knew that that would have been a better outcome. He has spent the last few days just thinking about how dangerous involving himself with Tony would be.

Yet he couldn’t say no when Tony called. He couldn’t feel anything other than relief. His head had given him a whiplash with the amount of time it went from trepidation to giddiness in the days between the call and the date.

“Steve?” Tony raised his eyebrow.

“Yeah?” Steve asked, realizing he spaced out. The waiter was gone.

“Feeling good?”

“Fine,” Steve said.

Tony narrowed his eyes but said nothing else. Steve took the glass of wine and reminded himself not to down it in one go.

“So,” Steve said, “How’s the company doing?”

Tony looked like he knew Steve was only asking for the lack of anything else to say, but indulged him anyway.

He was talking about his company, about his inventions, about Pepper. Steve realized that once Tony started talking, there wasn’t much that could stop him. Steve’s occasional ‘oh’s and ‘mhmm’s were enough for him to keep going. It was endearing, and Steve was grateful to just be able to sit back and listen.

Tony kept talking all through the appetizer, but stopped once the main course was set on the table.

“Come on, Steve, I can’t talk all night, say something.”

Steve thought that Tony probably _could_ talk all night, but decided to keep that comment to himself. Instead, he said, a little bashfully, “I like listening to you talk.”

Tony just blinked at him for a few second. Then shook his head. “I’m sorry, can I record you saying that? Because I don’t think Pepper will believe me.”

Steve smiled. “I’m serious.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Steve noticed he didn’t do well with compliments. “Still, I’d like to hear you too. Come on, tell me more about your life. Were you always an artist?”

“Well, actually, I was in the army.”

“Huh,” Tony said. “I must say I’m not that surprised.”

“Really?” Steve frowned. “Why?”

“I don’t know. You just look like a soldier.”

“And do you know a lot of soldiers?” Steve grinned.

Tony’s smile was more subdued. “Well, I was selling weapons to the military, so meeting soldiers was kind of in the job description.”

“Was?” Steve asked. As far as he knew, Stark Industries was still selling weapons. They did expand in the last year or so, in the green energy mostly, as Tony himself was just talking about. But still, the weapon manufacturing was their primary income, always has been.

“Yeah, I guess… We do still sell weapons, but it’s way less nowadays.” He bit his lip, debating whether to continue. Then said, “I’m thinking about shutting down the whole division actually. Well, not just thinking about it. We’re doing it. It’s just taking us a while.”

Steve stared at him. He tried to imagine it, Stark Industries not making weapons. He didn’t think he was the only person who would have a hard time picturing it. “Why not just shut it down immediately?” he asked, because he thought that Tony as the CEO would be able to do something like that if he wanted to.

“We thought about it,” Tony said. “Actually, I was supposed to just give a press conference and then set everything in motion. But… Some things happened. Stane died,” he said that quietly, staring darkly into his plate.

Steve remembered that day. What they were saying on the news. How Obadiah Stane died in an accident. Plane crash, if he remembered correctly.

He said, “Sorry,” knowing it probably wasn’t enough, but not knowing how to comfort.

“Yeah, well, it just pushed the whole thing back a little. Pepper told me we should do it slowly. Keep the damage to a minimum,” Tony said.

Steve could see that it was bothering Tony. He probably wanted to just do it, and be done with it, start focusing on the new and brighter things. He didn’t seem like the patient sort of guy.

Tony cleared his throat, “Anyway, that’s all super classified, so if you could keep it to yourself, that would be great.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Steve said, but Tony just kept talking.

“I mean, I won’t make you sign an NDA, even though Pepper would probably suggest it, but I trust you here, so I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Tony,” Steve reached across the table and took Tony’s hand in his. He felt warm all over, from the touch and the trust that Tony was putting in him. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

Tony was looking at him again, like he was trying to figure him out. “I barely know you. Why do I feel like I can trust you already?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. But if it’s any consolation, I feel the same.”

Tony smiled, big and bright and happy.

They continued eating, conversation drifting to more casual topics, until Tony asked, “So, army? How long were you there?”

“Around 5 years.”

“5 years? Wow. Why did you leave?”

Steve hesitated. Not a lot of people knew what had happened that year. Steve told the story only two times since then, once to his original team (Natasha, Clint and Bruce) and once to Peggy. They were also the only people who knew what exactly had happened (with Bucky, who was there). Everyone else knew the watered down version of the story that Clint and Natasha spread around.

Steve preferred it that way. He didn’t like to talk about it, didn’t like to think about it. His team only knew because it was the reason they all started the organization in the first place. And Peggy only knew because Steve got drunk one day and couldn’t keep it in.

Tony seemed to notice his hesitation. “You don’t have to talk about it. I’m sorry. I should have realized it would be a sensitive topic. We can talk about something else.”

But before Tony could change the subject entirely, Steve said, “Wait.”

Tony looked at him with his big, brown eyes. He was worried, looking at Steve like he expected him to bolt any time soon. Steve wondered what his expression was like if it got Tony to look at him like that.

The thing was… Tony trusted him. Since the beginning, he was nothing but open with Steve. And for some bizarre reason, Steve wanted to confide in Tony. If he couldn’t tell him he was the Captain, at least he could tell him this. This story that used to control Steve’s life, and is still influencing his decisions. This story that’s the reason for everything that’s going on in his life.

“It’s quite a long story. And not exactly…” he hesitated, looking around, “something you would tell in public.”

“Okay,” Tony said slowly, with a frown. He seemed to realize this was more serious than he originally thought and didn’t seem to know how to deal with that. “Well… You can tell me whenever you want. I’m not going anywhere.”

And that just made Steve smile, a feeling in his chest he did not want to think too much about.

They moved on to safer topics, then. Tony was still very much interested in Steve’s life, so Steve started talking about his friends. There was no way that Tony would connect them to the organization, and he would have to meet them at some point in time if this thing between them continues.

So Steve talked about Bucky, and all the childhood shenanigans they used to get up to. He told him about Nat and Clint and Bruce, how they helped him cope and how he didn’t know where he would be without them. About Thor, loud and friendly and always someone you could count on. About Sam, who was probably Steve’s best friend next to Bucky. How they all helped him grow as a person and move on from nightmares of the battlefield.

“They sound amazing,” Tony said, a smile on his face.

“They are,” Steve said. “They’re also idiots,” he added.

Tony laughed.

“I’m serious,” Steve said, trying and failing to keep a straight face. “Just last week, Clint ate an entire jar of peanut butter, then complained when he got sick.”

“What, you’re telling me you’ve never done that?” Tony asked.

Steve stared at Tony for a few seconds. Then burst out laughing.

“In my defense,” said Tony, laughing as well, “I was a kid at the time, so your friend still has no excuse.”

“The sad part is, that wasn’t the first time. He just doesn’t want to learn.”

Tony chuckled.

The rest of the dinner went by in easy conversation, laughing and teasing and just learning more about each other. Steve couldn’t stop laughing at some of Tony’s MIT stories, and Tony in turn was amazed at Steve’s less than successful attempts at stopping his neighborhood bullies.

Steve knew that this thing between them would only get more serious after today. There was no going back. He didn’t want to go back. Tony made him feel alive in a way he hadn’t felt in so long. And, yes, things would only get more complicated, and Steve’s identity was bound to catch up to him and who knows how Tony would react. But Steve would try. He would take Peggy’s advice. For once, he thought it was worth the risk.

* * *

Once they were back at the penthouse, sitting on the couch, Steve relaxed.

He was sitting sideways, his head on the back of couch as he watched Tony talk with big hand gestures and bright eyes. There was an energy to him that Steve couldn’t help but admire and despite the late hour, neither of them was particularly tired.

Steve thought that he could have stayed in that position forever, watching Tony and laying on the couch, not worrying about anything.

“I swear to God, I thought she was gonna throw her shoes at me. I’m sure that the only reason she didn’t was because they cost more than her rent,” Tony babbled, smiling fondly.

“I’m sure if she did actually throw her shoes at you, you would have deserved it.”

“Fair,” Tony chuckled. “Remind me to never introduce you two.”

Steve smiled but it didn’t last long. His mind was on the conversation he was about to have with Tony. He didn’t want to go back on his decision to tell Tony his story. He knew he was going to do it as soon as he made the decision in the restaurant. But that didn’t mean that the words are going to be easy to say. And everything felt so light and happy that Steve didn’t really want to spoil the moment. But Tony was looking at him now, a frown on his face.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “It’s perfect. I just… I was wondering if you wanted to hear that story now.”

Tony blinked. “Of course. But only if you want to tell me.”

Steve swallowed. “I do.”

“Okay, then,” Tony said quietly, then mirrored Steve’s position by laying his head on the back of the couch. Steve was distracted momentarily by Tony’s eyes looking directly at him.

He cleared his throat after a few moments. “I’m not exactly sure where to start.”

“Take your time Steve, it’s okay.”

Steve nodded. “Well, I guess, it all started on our last mission. Not that we knew it would be the last one at the time.”

Steve stopped and Tony nodded, encouraging.

“The details of the mission are classified but let’s just say that there was this organization we were supposed to stop, right? It was supposed to be pretty straightforward, we had intel on their location, and we had to go in and out, gather more information and report to the base.”

Steve trailed of again, words caught in his throat.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go as planned,” Tony said softly.

Steve shook his dead. “It was an ambush. They were expecting us. We had a mole in our ranks.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tony said, looking horrified.

“That’s not the worse part. They had weapons. Our weapons. They were in league with this big corporation that we thought was on our side. We were way outnumbered and outgunned. Barely got out of it alive. Only reason we managed was…”

Steve took a deep breath. He hated remembering the next part.

Tony didn’t push, but his eyes were worried.

“My best friend. Bucky,” Steve started again. Tony nodded to indicate he remembered who Steve was talking about. “He got us out. But he never managed to get out himself.”

Tony’s mouth opened on a silent gasp. He still didn’t say anything, letting Steve say everything in his own time.

“I wanted to go back inside, get him out. I would have. But there was an explosion. It knocked me out and by the time I woke up it was too late,” Steve closed his eyes. “That’s when I got out. I couldn’t do it without him. I spend the next couple of months searching for him with the help of my friends.”

“Did you find him?”

Steve nodded. “Yes. He managed to get out eventually. But he was never the same again. He’s still out there, now, fighting against the guys who did that to him. But now at least I get a phone call every now and then,” Steve tried to smile. It didn’t quite work.

“What happened to him?” Tony asked.

“It’s not really my story to tell,” said Steve, hoping Tony would understand.

And Tony did. He moved closer to Steve, burying his head in Steve’s neck. Steve hugged Tony close to him, thankful for the silent support.

They were like that for long minute, just breathing each other in, until Tony said, “Thank you for telling me.”

“I wanted to.”

“I have a story myself,” Tony murmured into Steve’s neck, then raised his head to look him in the eyes. “But I think it’s for some other time.”

Steve smiled at him. “Of course.”

When they went to bed that evening, they only cuddled up close to each other, too tired for anything else.

* * *

The next few weeks went by in a daze. Steve saw Tony every other day and they only got closer as the time passed by. Steve even met the famous Pepper Potts, despite Tony’s protests, and they really hit it off. She reminded him of Peggy.

And Tony, he was… overwhelming on a good day. So full of energy and ideas, he was fascinating to watch. He could have the whole room eating out of his hand within the first few minutes of walking inside it. People were drawn to him, not only because he was the richest man in the country, but because he could make you feel like you were the most important person just because you had his attention, even for a few seconds. His charisma and ability to navigate any situation made him the most popular person in any room.

And while Steve was uncomfortable in big, social events, he let Tony drag him to a few, just so he could watch him be in his element. Tony could charm a crowd like no one else Steve met. When Steve asked him about it he just shrugged and said that he went to those kind of events since he was a kid so he learned all the tricks from the young age. Steve was more than a little impressed.

But his favorite moment with Tony happened one month after they first met. Tony remembered what they talked about that day at the gala and took Steve to the children’s hospital. Steve could still remember the look on the kids’ faces when they saw Tony. They were so excited. And Tony was so natural with them, like he was finally able to be himself with those children. Steve was surprised how much the kids liked _him_ as well. He made a small arts place and spend most of his time there drawing or finger painting or making collages with other kids. It was adorable how determined they were. A lot of them after finishing their art went to Tony to show him what they did. He looked at all the pieces like they were the most beautiful masterpieces he had ever seen, and told them they better all became artists so that he could buy all their drawings himself one day.

Needless to say, Steve was a little bit in love after that.

Meanwhile, in the base, things haven’t been going as smoothly. The minions they captured in Hell’s Kitchen refused to talk, though Natasha claimed she would have them crack any day now. The problem was they feared their master too much. She was going to make them fear her more.

Everybody knew about him and Tony almost immediately. It was hard to keep it from them, since Steve was photographed next to Tony on numerous occasions and the gossip pages on the newspapers were filled with speculation. It made Steve wary, having so many eyes on him, but he was confident in his cover. A few nosy paparazzi were not going to find him out any time soon.

Still, even if that weren’t the case, his team would have known. Natasha said to him more than once that he was transparent and a bad liar, at least when it came to lying to them.

Most of them were worried, naturally, but they knew there was nothing they could do about it. Natasha tried to have a conversation with him, but once she realized how invested Steve was, she let it go, telling him she only hoped it won’t all blow up in his face. Steve hoped so, too.

Things on the Iron Man front were quiet for once, and Steve was grateful. He was in a too good mood only to have it ruined by the other man.

For once, Steve wasn’t thinking about the next mission, the next bad guy to take down. He wasn’t waiting for something to go wrong or for a new lead to show up. He was happy in the moment. For maybe the first time ever since coming from the army, Steve was able to relax.

He knew, realistically, that it wouldn’t last.

But it was so good while it lasted.

* * *

One of the guys finally cracked. Natasha said he was a henchmen, privy to only the minimal amount of necessary information, but it was enough.

He had an address.

No one asked Natasha how she got him to talk. She wouldn’t have said anyway. And Steve personally didn’t want to know. There were parts of this job that weren’t pretty, but were sometimes necessary. This was one of those cases.

The lead was way too good to wait on. And the longer they waited, the higher the chances of the bad guys relocating. So the very next day, they all geared up for ambush and set for the base. It was on the outskirts of New York, which was lucky because it attracted less attention, which was probably why the Mandarin had chosen it.

Bruce had asked if they were going to call Iron Man for backup. Steve deemed it unnecessary. It was a quick in and out, their specialty. Iron Man would only be in the way.

As for Tony, since it was supposed to be their date night, Steve had to form a quick lie to explain his absence. In the end, Natasha thought of one for him, saying Clint had just broken up with his girlfriend and needed a guy’s night out. Steve knew that if that were really the case, he would have invited Tony to come along, but since he didn’t yet meet Steve’s friends, it didn’t seem so unrealistic that Steve would want to go alone to comfort his friend. Steve hated having to lie to him, but it couldn’t be avoided.

In any case, Tony believed him, so Steve was free for the night to focus on being the Captain. It was weird, being in that role again. Technically, he was the Captain almost every day at the base, but it was a different feeling all together when it came to the outside missions. Especially one as dangerous as this one. Steve couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling. He loved being the Captain. And though he loved spending time with Tony as well, he didn’t know if he would have been able to give it up for him. He hoped he would never have to choose.

The van pulled up to a stop. The plan was simple. Go in unnoticed. Scout the area. Get out with the data. If seen, get out. If captured, call for help.

Bruce stayed in the van to oversee the coms, while the rest of them got out and with a quick nod spread out. They designed the entrance plans by looking at the grainy images of the satellite maps. Steve would take the back entrance, Clint the first floor window and Natasha the side entrance. Sam and Thor stayed outside, as a backup.

Disposing of the guards was only so complicated in a way that they had to do it inconspicuously. But they were not expected and the stun guns were set to silent. Steve was always suspicious of a plan going too well, especially at the beginning, but he wasn’t going to overthink it. The base wasn’t the main location of the Mandarin’s operations anyway, so heavy guard wasn’t as necessary.

The inside of the base was silent and barely lit. It seemed it was out of commission for the time being. Still, the guards were guarding something.

Going from room to room, avoiding the occasional guards, Steve stalked through the base, trying to find incriminating evidence. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking for, but he knew he would know it when he sees it.

But he wasn’t the first one to find it.

“Guys, you have to come here right now,” Natasha whispered in the coms then gave them directions. It led right to the basement. Of course.

Steve met Clint outside the door and together they entered the room. The first thing Steve noticed were the two guards laying on the ground, stunned. The second thing were the boxes. Piles and piles of boxes.

“Holy shit,” whispered Clint.

Most of the boxes had the stamp of Hammer Industries on them. There were some other, smaller companies that sold weapons whose stamps were on the boxes, but for the most part, it was all Hammer.

Natasha was a little further in the room. She was looking at something with furrowed brow.

“This is great,” Clint was saying next to Steve. “This could put Hammer in jail for forever.”

But Steve was not paying attention to Clint’s excited chatter. He was still staring at Natasha and her worried expression. She was never worried, unless someone on the team was injured.

“Natasha,” he tried to get her attention. “Is everything all right?”

Clint now also noticed that something was wrong, and they both started moving toward her.

“Wait,” she threw out her hand. They stopped. Whatever it was she was looking at, she didn’t want them to see it. But she knew they had to. So she slowly lowered her hand and looked at Steve with regret.

Steve, now worried, came to stand next to her and looked down.

More boxes. An entire back half of the room was also covered with them. Steve couldn’t look away from the black letters imprinted on them.

Stark Industries.

Clint cursed under his breath. Steve was still staring at the boxes. There were almost as many of them as they were from Hammer.

When no one said anything, Steve bent down and tore one of the boxes open. What he found inside didn’t surprise him.

“Best weapons in the world,” murmured Clint. “We should take some for ourselves.”

Clint was maybe trying to ignore the elephant in the room, but Natasha wasn’t. As soon as Steve stood back up, she grabbed his arm. “Steve.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, still with that frown.

“For what?” he asked.

Clint and Natasha shared a look.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Steve said firmly. “But Tony didn’t do this.”

“Dude, those are his weapons,” Clint said.

Steve shook his head. “He didn’t do it. Something else is at work here.”

It was obvious they didn’t believe him, but they let it go.

But Steve was right, he knew he was. Tony would never sell weapons to a terrorist. He was planning to shut the weapons manufacturing division down. It didn’t make sense.

“We should probably call Iron Man,” Clint was saying.

“What?” Steve looked sharply at Clint. “Why?”

“Steve, we have to tell him what we found.”

“No! Come on, you know how Iron Man’s like. Shoot first, ask questions later. You maybe don’t believe me, but I know that Tony is innocent here, and you have to let me prove that before Iron Man finds out.”

“We would be risking a lot by waiting, Steve,” Natasha said. “All for what? A gut feeling? You’re biased, you know that.”

“It’s not just that,” Steve promised Tony he wasn’t going to tell anyone about the division shut down. And besides, they would just think it was his word against the pile of evidence. “Please, you have to believe me.”

Natasha sighed. “We’ll discuss this later. What do you want to do now?”

“We should get out before the guards wake up,” Steve said.

“And leave the weapons here?” asked Clint.

“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “I know what to do.”

* * *

They waited in the shadows next to their van, when the first SHIELD vehicles rolled up, strike teams at the ready. True to her word, Peggy delivered them in record speed. If anyone were to ask questions, she would have told them that it was an anonymous tipper that made the call. But everyone would know that it was the Captain and his organization. This wasn’t the first time.

They waited mostly in silence, Thor and Clint the only ones in the mood for a conversation. Natasha kept shooting Steve glances every now and then but Steve ignored her. He knew what she wanted to say.

After some time has passed, they heard rustling in the dark trees. Steve felt all of them tense up next to him, before a voice called out.

“It’s just me,” said Peggy, stepping out into the clearing.

Steve smiled. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thanks for the tip,” she hugged him then said quick hellos to the others. “So, Steve,” she turned to him. “I saw what was in there,” she said quietly. She was looking at him like she was worried he was going to break any moment now.

“Peggy, I need you to not do anything about it.”

“What? Steve, what are you talking about?”

“I need you to give me time to prove Tony’s innocent.”

“Innocent? Steve, darling, I know how you feel about him, but this is some strong evidence against him. You know this breaks my heart. I was so happy you finally found someone, but…”

“But nothing. If Tony really did sell those weapons, I’ll lock him in a prison cell myself. But I don’t believe he did, Pegs. I really, really don’t. This is not just a hunch,” he glanced at Natasha.

Peggy was silent for a long moment. She was the one who had encouraged Steve to pursue this relationship the most, and while everyone had been worried, she was nothing but supportive and happy for him. She wanted to believe Tony was innocent. For Steve’s sake.

Eventually, she nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. It shouldn’t be that hard considering he’s one of the most powerful people in the country. No one actually wants to go against him.”

“Thank you,” Steve said, hugging her once more.

“I hope you’re right about him,” she said then released him. “Hurry up though, I won’t be able to keep people from snooping forever.”

“I know, don’t worry.”

“I always worry,” she said before waving at them and slipping back through the trees.

After a couple of moments of staring at the place where she disappeared, Natasha cleared her throat. “So, how exactly are you going to prove Tony’s innocent?”

“I’m working on it,” Steve said without looking back.

* * *

Summer was near, and heat was bearing down on Steve as he sat on a bench in Central Park, waiting for Tony. He was early, but he took that time to draw a few sketches in his notebook. He rarely found the time to draw lately, what with spending his time either with Tony or at the base.

But drawing was always calming for him, so he liked to do it when something was bothering him, simply to get his mind off of it for a few hours.

And ever since they found Tony’s weapons in the Mandarin’s base, Steve couldn’t stop thinking about it. Yes, he had decided there and then that he believed Tony was innocent, but it wouldn’t be the first time that he was wrong about a person. And Natasha was right, he _was_ biased. He wanted Tony to be innocent. Because he liked Tony. More than he liked anyone in a very long time. More than he wanted to admit, even to himself.

Losing Tony would hurt, but finding out that Tony was not who he said he was would be unbearable.

So, Steve would give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if it risked everything they worked for so far.

He was finally getting immersed in his drawing, tuning out everything around him, including his thoughts, when he felt someone sit down next to him.

He didn’t need to turn his head to look, knowing it was Tony, so he continued drawing the little flock of birds surrounding the low branches.

“You know what I’ll make you draw one of these days?”

Steve smiled, still without looking up. “Please don’t make a Titanic reference.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Tony fake-gasped.

Steve finally raised his head to look at the other man, raising an eyebrow.

Tony huffed, amused. “Fine, but just so you know, I would make a great muse.”

“You already are,” Steve said without thinking.

“Wait, what?”

“Uh, nothing. I didn’t mean… Not like that,” Steve said in a strained voice. But it was too late, there was already a grin appearing on Tony’s face.

“Steve Rogers, have you drawn me?”

“I… I mean… I didn’t… Maybe a little bit?” Steve cringed. He wasn’t planning on telling Tony, but now that he asked, he also didn’t want to lie. The fact was that, he _had_ drawn Tony, a couple of times, when he was alone in his apartment and couldn’t stop thinking about him.

“Can I see?” Tony asked, excitement evident.

“Okay, but not here,” Steve looked around. There was not a lot of people around, but he would still have liked to do it in private.

“Why?” Tony asked, but followed Steve when he stood up. “Did you draw me naked?”

Steve blushed. He hadn’t actually seen Tony completely naked. The thing was that Tony never took his shirt off. At first Steve thought that Tony just forgot about it in the heat of the moment but when he realized later that it was on purpose, he asked Tony about it. Tony confessed that he had scars on his chest from an accident, and that one day he would tell Steve the whole story, but until then the shirt stayed on. Steve insisted he didn’t mind the scars, having some himself, but he didn’t push. He knew that it took time to open up to someone and show them all your most vulnerable sides, and he was willing to wait until Tony was comfortable enough around him to do so.

They both had their pasts. Steve couldn’t exactly fault Tony for keeping some things to himself, when he had his secrets as well. He just hoped that one day they could both open up completely and be honest with each other. He hoped Tony would understand what being the Captain meant to Steve, that he would accept it.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

He smiled at Tony and took his hand. “You’ll see.”

Tony looked at him, intrigued, but said nothing.

They walked like that, hand in hand, through Central Park. It was nice, being able to just walk in silence and enjoy each other’s company, without it being awkward.

Steve looked at Tony. He seemed so relaxed, like he rarely let himself be, especially in public. Steve thought that maybe he was responsible for that, at least a little bit. The thought made him feel warm inside.

And then it occurred to him. He didn’t have to prove that Tony’s innocent. Tony can do that by himself. He was the only one who could explain everything. He must know how those weapons got to the Mandarin, and if he doesn’t, he could find out. Maybe he has a leak in his company that he doesn’t even know about. Tony would be appalled by that. But he would also want to know, so that he could fire that person, and possibly lock them up in jail. It all made sense. Maybe they even found out about the weapon’s shut down and were now trying to sell as much as they could without Tony finding out about it.

Steve felt a pang of sympathy for Tony. He would hate being used like that, especially since he didn’t want to make weapons anymore anyway. But whoever was doing it must be found out. And to do that, they needed Tony. He was the only one who could find out what’s really going on.

But Steve Rogers couldn’t tell Tony any of that. He was just a small-time artist from Brooklyn.

The Captain, however. The Captain would have that kind of information. He needed to be the one to tell him.

Steve made a mental note to ask Bruce if there was a way to send Tony a message. As their tech guy, he was the one most likely to know. Steve will bring it up tomorrow, on their next meeting. The others would have to know as well.

As he was making plans, trying to figure out the best way to get Tony to talk to the Captain, they arrived at Tony’s car. Steve didn’t even notice Tony was leading him there.

“Are we going back to the Tower?”

Tony bit his lip. “Actually, I was thinking… And you can say no if you want. But maybe we could go to your place this time?”

Steve stared at Tony in surprise. “Really? We can, but… It’s not a penthouse,” he said with a laugh. His crappy apartment was the size of Tony’s bedroom, it wasn’t exactly something Steve wanted to show off.

“It doesn’t matter,” Tony said, looking at him earnestly. “I want to know everything about you and the place where you live is a part of that.”

Steve couldn’t help himself, he had to lean down and kiss Tony. They didn’t really do PDA, mostly because of the paparazzi, but they were pretty secluded in their space between Tony’s car and the bushes behind. It was worth it for the way Tony melted into the kiss. They kept it pretty chaste, with a promise for more. And suddenly, Steve couldn’t wait for them to get to his apartment.

“Let’s go,” he said once they broke apart. Tony smiled.

* * *

One of the things that made Steve a good leader was his ability to leave his personal feelings aside when he was in the uniform. When he was the Captain, Steve Rogers took a backseat.

He was very good at compartmentalizing.

Which was exactly what he had to do now, sitting at a meeting, about to suggest they invite Tony Stark inside their base to prove he didn’t illegally sell his weapons to a known terrorist.

Easier said than done.

His thoughts kept going back to the night before.

Tony was charmed by his apartment. It was honestly not a reaction Steve was expecting. But it was endearing, watching Tony walk around his apartment, stare at the various paintings on the walls, ask questions and listen to stories about all the knick-knacks Steve had lying around.

They ordered take out and sat talking on the couch for hours. It reminded Steve of the first time he was at Tony’s penthouse.

Which was why, after a while, he slid closer to Tony and said, “The view here isn’t anything special. Would you rather see the one from my bedroom?”

Tony huffed a laugh and dragged Steve into a kiss.

Steve turned his thoughts back to the present. It would not be good to get distracted again.

“Unfortunately, we have extracted all possible information out of our prisoners.” Natasha was saying. “And even if they had more locations, the Mandarin is smart enough to relocate them after last time.”

“But how many bases like that does he have? There was a lot of weapons there.” Bruce said.

“A couple, at least,” said Natasha. “And that’s only in the US.”

“So what’s our next move?” Sam asked.

Natasha turned to look at Steve. “Hammer hasn’t been seen in a few weeks, but once he shows up, SHIELD will be there, waiting for him. In the meantime, the biggest lead we have is Tony Stark.”

“Cap, you said you’re going to prove he’s innocent. Any idea on how to do that?” Sam asked.

Steve was about to start speaking when Natasha interrupted. “We could have Bruce make a virus. You’d slip it into Stark’s computer and download everything on it.”

“I’m not comfortable with that,” Steve said. It made him uneasy, thinking about breaching Tony’s privacy like that, betraying his trust.

“And,” Bruce added. “I’m not sure that’s the smartest idea. Breaching Stark’s security would be extremely difficult and risky. If it fails, Steve would be discovered immediately.”

“Iron Man could do it,” Clint said. Steve glared at him. “Well, he could. Nobody’s a match to him in the tech department, not even your precious Tony Stark.”

“We are not telling Iron Man,” Steve said. He knew it would be the smart thing to do. And Clint was right, if anyone could breach Tony’s security, it would be Iron Man. But Iron Man was also a loose cannon. If Steve told him to leave Tony alone until they had more information, he wasn’t sure that Iron Man would listen. And if Iron Man decided that Tony was guilty here, who knows what he would do to him. Steve couldn’t let that happen. “Besides, I have a different idea.”

“Well, what is it?” Sam asked.

Steve hesitated. Then took a deep breath and started speaking. “I think we should invite Tony here.” Before anyone could start protesting, he added, “Natasha’s right, he is our only lead right now. And he’s the only one who could give us the information we need.”

“And you really think he would tell us the truth?” Clint asked, skeptical.

“I think we should at least listen to what he has to say before deciding anything.”

To Steve’s surprise, Natasha was the first one to nod. “Very well, then. If that’s what you think will work, then that is what we should do. But Steve, if I suspect, even for a second, that he might be pulling our leg…”

“I know,” Steve said. “I trust your judgment.”

Natasha looked surprised for a second, as if she didn’t really think Steve would believe her over Tony. But Steve and Natasha went way back. He knew she was the best at reading people. He will always trust her judgment, and he knew that she wouldn’t accuse Tony of anything unless she was absolutely certain of it.

She gave him a small smile, and everyone else was more into the idea once they knew she supported it.

“So, how are we going to get Tony Stark to come here?” asked Clint.

“Bruce?”

“What, Steve, you can’t just text him?” Bruce joked.

“I’m afraid not. This message can’t come from me in any way.”

“Fine. I’ll try to slip the message into his security system.”

“Good,” Steve said. “Anything else we need to discuss?”

* * *

Tony Stark was coming to the base.

Steve was nervous for the whole three days since they send the message and got the confirmation. He didn’t like that his two lives were mixing up. It felt like he was at a crossroad, and whatever decision he made today will affect his life going forward.

He also didn’t like that he will have to stand in front of Tony, wear a cowl, and pretend to be someone Tony didn’t know.

He hoped that one day, when Tony finds out the truth, he will understand why Steve had to lie to him.

They waited in the hangar, where they usually met with Iron Man. They didn’t have a lot of outside guests, but the ones they did have knew that they had to keep the location of it a secret. It’s the reason his team was skeptical about inviting Tony here, but Steve knew that Tony would keep it a secret as well.

He was there with Natasha, Clint, Sam and Bruce. Thor was back in his home country, where he had to go to deal with his brother, which was why he wasn’t around much lately.

Natasha was first to notice Steve’s nerves.

“Don’t worry, he won’t recognize you.”

“No, I know,” Steve said.

Before she could respond, Clint joined them. “You know, man, I thought I was going to meet your boyfriend for the first time under different circumstances.”

“Yeah, you and me both.” Steve was excited to finally introduce Tony to his friends. He planned to bring them all together to a bar, keep everything casual and fun. He didn’t know what he was going to do now. His friends will have this as their first impression of Tony, and Tony won’t even know he met them.

Natasha looked at him sadly, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Then, without warning, the small doors at the back of the room opened and Tony Stark walked inside, like he owned the building. He wore a three piece suit and sunglasses that probably cost more than Steve’s rent. He looked good. Nobody could deny that.

But Steve knew him well enough to recognize when Tony was hiding behind his public persona. He was always impressed with Tony’s ability to turn on the charm when the situation called for it.

Tony was rich and powerful and good looking and he knew how to use that to his advantage.

And he was entering an unfamiliar and dangerous situation with minimal amount of knowledge as to why they called him here. He was at a disadvantage. But you would never think that by looking at him.

He glanced around, like he was only mildly curious. He had one hand in his pocket and the other was holding a big, silver briefcase. He looked like he had just walked out of a very satisfying meeting.

He came to a stop in front of them. Natasha and Clint stayed at Steve’s side while Sam and Bruce hanged back.

Tony didn’t speak first, not giving them the satisfaction of asking what he was doing there. Steve as a leader was supposed to be the first one to speak, but he was frozen on the spot since the moment he set eyes on Tony.

So it was Natasha who spoke first. “Thank you for coming.”

Tony put the briefcase down and took off his sunglasses. He smiled at her. “Nice place.”

Natasha nodded. She didn’t say thank you again. Tony smiled wider.

“You must be wondering why we called you,” she said. Steve let her speak. She was good at it and he didn’t trust himself not to mess it up.

“I admit I am curious,” then he looked around, more closely this time. “I’m also curious on where you guys get your funding. You’re more advanced than I would have given you credit for.”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to keep that information to ourselves,” Natasha said mildly. “But I _can_ tell you why you’re here.”

Tony turned his head back to look at her. But then he looked at Steve.

“I’m sorry, are you the leader here?” he asked her. “I thought that was the Captain.”

“I am,” Steve spoke for the first time. “And I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Would you like to sit down first?”

Tony narrowed his eyes, as if he wasn’t expecting Steve to be nice to him. Then shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to him whether they were sitting down or standing up.

Steve directed him to the table they brought to the hangar specifically for this. Tony sat down and Steve, Nat and Clint sat on the opposite side of the table. It felt like they were about to interrogate him. Which, to be honest, they were.

Natasha once again, took the initiative to speak first. “Do you know who the Mandarin is?” Her voice was clipped and to the point. It was always effective.

“Yes,” Tony said and didn’t elaborate. He waited for her to continue.

It was fascinating, watching them interact. Steve always thought that they would get along great if they met under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances.

“Recently, we raided one of his secret bases.”

“How did you find out about it?” asked Tony. He was highly suspicious and Steve couldn’t blame him. For all he knew, they wanted to lock him up for something he didn’t do.

“That is irrelevant,” said Natasha, her tone carefully natural.

Tony stared at her for a moment longer, then conceded and gestured for her to continue speaking.

She did. He didn’t interrupt her again, and his expression grew more somber as she continued speaking. As she was explaining, she showed him pictures they took that day, of his weapons and the base.

Once she was done, they all sat in silence.

Tony’s face didn’t give much away. His poker face was almost as good as Natasha’s. But Steve could tell that this news surprised him. Tony didn’t know the Mandarin had his weapons.

“Okay,” Tony said slowly. “And why am I here?”

Steve frowned. “You’re here to tell us how your weapons got there. Who sold them to the Mandarin?”

“What? You don’t think that it was me?”

Steve shared a look with Natasha. “We’re giving you the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because…” Steve started. This part was tricky. “Because we have no reason to suspect you. And you came here willingly which makes us believe you have nothing to hide. We’re willing to listen to your explanation if you have one.”

“Or admit that you sold the weapons yourself,” added Natasha. “Did you?”

Tony stared at them. He was calculating, trying to decide whether to trust them or not. But he didn’t have much of a choice. He did get here by himself and he must have known that they weren’t just going to let him walk away if he didn’t tell them anything.

“No,” he said in the end. “I did not.”

“So, who did?” Clint asked then, too curious to stay away from the conversation any longer. “Do you know?”

“I know,” Tony nodded.

“Well? Who was it?” Clint asked.

Tony hesitated. Then said, “Obadiah Stane.”

The statement was met with silence. Everyone knew who Obadiah Stane was. Tony’s closest relative after his parents died, the guy who helped him run the company from the beginning. On one hand, if anyone would be able to get away with selling the weapons right under Tony’s nose, it would be him. On the other hand, he was dead and would be the perfect person to blame if Tony had something to hide.

“He’s dead,” Natasha said. Steve knew she was thinking the exact same thing.

Tony’s expression didn’t change, nor did he say anything. Natasha was stating facts, after all, not asking questions.

“So, you found out that Stane sold your weapons to the Mandarin?” Steve prompted.

“Obbie sold my weapons to a lot of people,” Tony said calmly.

Steve waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t.

Natasha’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How did he die?”

Tony looked right into her eyes, unflinching. He didn’t repeat the official story that the public was told about Stane’s death. Instead, he repeated Natasha’s own words back to her. “That is irrelevant.”

Natasha leaned back in her chair.

“Do you have proof?” Steve asked. “That it was Stane who sold the weapons and not you?”

“I do.”

Steve nodded. “Good. You’ll need to give it to SHIELD.” Tony looked at him sharply. “You know who they are, right?” Steve added, unsure.

“Yes. But why would I need to give them the proof?” Tony asked, wary.

“We called them after we found your weapons,” Natasha said. “They were the ones who confiscated it.”

“Don’t worry,” Steve said. “We have a person on the inside. You can trust her.” Steve pulled a card with Peggy’s information out of his pocket and put it in front of Tony.

Tony took the card but didn’t seem reassured. He only appeared more frustrated. “Why did you even have to involve them? Couldn’t you just have called Iron Man or something?”

Steve blinked, surprised. “Well…” he hesitated. “We didn’t want Iron Man to jump to the wrong conclusions.”

“What?” Tony asked, baffled.

Steve looked at Natasha for help, but she just looked amused. “The thing is… We didn’t want Iron Man to accuse you of something before we gave you a chance to explain.”

If anything, Tony looked even more baffled. “What do you think he would have done?”

“What he always does,” said Steve, a little more bitterly than he should have, perhaps. “He wouldn’t have waited for an explanation, that’s for sure. He’d probably destroy Stark Industries because he’d think you’re dealing under the table.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he would have waited if you guys told him to.”

Steve clenched his jaw and stopped himself from speaking. He knew that Tony admired the guy and didn’t know what a jerk he really was. Steve was not going to burst his bubble.

Tony continued. “And by the way, I still don’t understand why you assumed I was innocent. I’ll be the first one to admit that finding my weapons like that seems very suspicious.”

“Just be lucky we did,” Natasha said.

“I don’t believe in luck.”

“Listen,” Steve said. “Things didn’t match and we wanted to make sure. The last thing we want is to accuse someone of something they didn’t do. Especially you. You know what it would meant, accusing you of this.”

Tony still didn’t look completely satisfied, but he accepted the explanation. After all, Steve was right. Accusing Tony of criminal activities, especially when he was actually innocent and had proof of it, would be a deadly mistake on their part.

“And you believe me. Just like that?”

“We will let our friends at SHIELD decide that. Until then, you are free,” said Natasha.

Tony looked at them. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Natasha smiled.

They all slowly stood up. Tony picked up his briefcase, slipped on his sunglasses and gave them a cherry wave as he walked back out the door.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, Natasha said, “I like him.”

Steve smiled.

* * *

The next day, Steve made his way toward Stark Tower.

He didn’t want to admit it at the time, but seeing Tony as the Captain left him more unsettled than he thought it would. Sure, he knew it was not going to be easy, being in front of Tony. But actually experiencing it? Having Tony look at him with cold eyes and borderline distaste? It made Steve sick thinking about it.

Tony was professional and aloof and calculating. Everything you would expect him to be in front of strangers with unknown agendas. And all Steve wanted was to see Tony’s real smile and soft eyes.

Which was why he was going to see Tony, despite the fact that they didn’t have plans to meet.

When he got to the Tower, he was unsure on what to do. The one elevator he knew would take him to Tony was the one that didn’t have a button. But before he could call Tony and ask him, the elevators opened on its own, right in front of him.

Steve hesitated before going inside. But the elevator took him right to Tony’s penthouse. When he stepped into the room, it was quiet. He was just about to call to Tony, when the man himself came from the other side, beaming.

And all the tension Steve carried from the day before just evaporated. Here was Tony, smiling and disheveled, wearing a shirt with grease stains on it. It was so far removed from the cold, calculating Tony and yet there was still that undercurrent of power and knowledge in the way he held himself.

“Hey, what a pleasant surprise,” he said. “If I knew you were coming, I’d prepare better.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” said Steve, hugging Tony when he came closer. “And you know you don’t need to do anything. I should have probably called, though. You must be busy.”

“It’s nothing that can’t wait,” said Tony, before ushering him to the living room. It made Steve feel special, the way Tony choose him over work, wanting to rather spend his time with him.

Steve sat down, while Tony went to get them something to drink. “Are you hungry? We could order something,” Tony said from the bar.

“I could eat,” Steve said.

“You know, I could really go for some pizza,” Tony said when he came back. “Or do you want something else?”

“Pizza sounds great.”

Soon after pizza came, they decided to watch a movie. And while Steve loved all the various outings he got to do with Tony, his favorites were definitely those quiet, casual nights, where it was just the two of them. He loved the intimacy of it, the closeness.

Tony was laying on his side, his head on Steve’s chest. Steve’s hand on Tony’s waist. Steve wasn’t sure what the movie was called, but it was a mindless action movie that was perfect for the evening. Steve didn’t care about it, anyway. He was more concentrated on Tony’s warmth next to him.

The movie was nearing its end, when Tony feel asleep. He liked to comment on the movie, little sarcastic comments or pointing out the inaccuracies. But he was silent then, and Steve closed his eyes as well, unwilling to move.

But then Tony shifted and Steve realized he wasn’t asleep, just thinking. Then he said, “You’re the only good thing in my life.”

Steve startled. He was not expecting that. “You don’t mean that.”

But Tony nodded, determined. “I do. There’s just… There’s so much crap happening in my life lately. It feels like it will never end. Like I can’t catch a break.”

Steve hesitated. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Tony looked up at him. “No. You’re the one thing I have that’s not tainted. I want it to stay that way for as long as possible.”

“Okay,” Steve said as Tony settled down again. “Whatever you want, Tony.”

“I’ll tell you one day,” Tony said after a while. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Steve whispered. What he really wanted to say was, _me too_.

* * *

After that, things went back to normal, more or less.

Peggy called to say that Tony’s evidenced matched up and he was free of all charges. Turns out that Stane sold quite a lot of weapons behind Tony’s back, and Tony has been trying to find them for a while now. Now he finally had a lead. Steve didn’t like Tony getting involved with the Mandarin but he also knew he didn’t have a choice but to let him. Tony would not listen to the Captain and Steve Rogers didn’t know anything about it. It was a messy situation, one that Steve hoped would get resolved soon.

Since Tony was proved innocent, Steve finally let Natasha update Iron Man on what was going on. Steve himself wasn’t there when she called the man, but she told him later that he wasn’t happy they went behind his back. Steve couldn’t care less what he thought. He was always going to protect Tony first, and if that meant keeping Iron Man in the dark, so be it.

Then a few days later he showed up, bringing some equipment to Bruce. It was just Steve’s luck he was in the hangar at that time, working on the Quinjet.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t America’s favorite Captain.”

Steve gritted his teeth. It’s been a while since he saw Iron Man and he was starting to forget how annoying the man could be. Good thing he showed up to remind him.

“Iron Man. I’d say it’s a pleasure to see you again, but it’s not.”

Iron Man’s mechanical voice laughed. Then Bruce showed up and the two men spent some time talking about technical things Steve didn’t understand. He got the sudden impression that Tony would fit right into their little group.

Steve continued working on the Quinjet. He was hoping that if he appeared busy, Iron Man would leave without talking to him again.

No such luck.

“Need some help?” a voice behind him asked.

“No.”

“You sure? You seem to be struggling.”

Steve turned around. He was annoyed at the expressionless mask of the Iron Man helmet. He knew the man inside was amused.

“Don’t worry about me,” Steve said, with as much distaste as possible.

Iron Man threw his hands out as if in surrender, “Hey, just thought I’d point out you got that last wire wrong. Wouldn’t want you to crash because your pride didn’t allow you to accept help.”

Steve turned back to look. And dammit, but Iron Man was right. This never would have happened if Steve wasn’t so distracted by the other man. Now he’s never going to let him live this down.

“Maybe if you let me work in peace, I wouldn’t get distracted.”

“Oh, I’m distracting you now, am I?” Iron Man sounded, if possible, even more amused.

Steve rolled his eyes. “It’s your annoying presence that’s the problem, maybe you should do something about it.”

“It’s not my fault you’re about as fun as a wet blanket.”

 _You wouldn’t think that, if you knew I was dating Tony Stark_ , Steve thought, somewhat guiltily. He never once, since starting this thing with Tony, thought about bragging about it. But he wanted to now. He wanted to show it under Iron Man’s nose.

“Oh, good thing you think you’re so much fun.”

“I do, actually,” Iron Man replied smugly, which kind of proved Steve’s point.

Before he got a chance to reply, a voice interrupted them. “Why are you two bickering again?” Natasha asked, walking into the room.

“We’re not bickering,” Steve said.

Natasha came to stand next to them. “Yes, you are. You’re like an old married couple.”

Iron Man and Steve started protesting at the same time. Natasha laughed.

“Fine, whatever,” Iron Man said. “Well, as much as it’s lovely to see you Widow, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you now. I have something I have to take care of.”

Steve crossed his arms and waited for Iron Man to leave, without saying a word. He knew it was petty, but he didn’t care at the moment.

Natasha looked at him disapprovingly for a second, before turning back to Iron Man. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she said.

“Always,” Iron Man replied. It sounded like an inner joke. He saluted Steve before he went up in the sky, and through the open roof.

Natasha and Steve both stood looking up at the sky. It was always impressive, watching that armor at work, even when Steve hated to admit it.

“So,” Natasha broke the silence. “I see you and Iron Man are still getting along.”

Steve glared at her. “Did you need something?”

“Yes, actually,” she said. “We have some new information.”

“What kind of information?” Steve asked, intrigued.

“An address. To another base.”

“Another base? How?”

“SHIELD. They found it.”

Steve didn’t like how vague she was. Mandarin’s bases were a closely guarded secret, even more so after Steve and his team found the last one. Who knew what kind of resources SHIELD had to put into this. But Steve also knew that Natasha would have told him more if it was necessary. They had the address. That was the important part.

“So, when do we move?” Natasha asked.

“You think you guys can be ready by tonight?”

Natasha’s smirk was answer enough.

* * *

After, you think about what you could have done differently. You analyze every moment, every second, and think, _what would have made a difference?_

The answer is _nothing._

If given a choice to go back, there is not a single thing you would have done differently, not a single step you would have changed.

Because at the end of the day, what Bucky did that faithful day, years prior, was the right choice to make. And so was yours.

It started like this.

The base didn’t look much different from the last one.

Same architecture, same gloomy feeling, same looking minions.

Same strategy.

When you go into these things, you plan for every variable, you account for every possible scenario. You think about the worst possible outcomes.

But you don’t expect one to happen.

It was pretty soon that Steve realized they were ambushed. Mostly because he had been in this situation once before, and he knew the signs. When you were betrayed, it was pretty easy to figure it out. The problem was that people didn’t usually look for the signs of betrayal, not expecting it.

They were on the one side of the door, desk pushed in front of it, waiting for the horde of Mandarin’s henchmen to break in.

Natasha was blaming herself. “I should have known. I should have asked how they got the information.”

“It’s not your fault,” Steve said, looking at the way she was trying to unlock the door on the other side of the room as quickly as possible. Her hands were steady. “We all would have trusted SHIELD’s information.”

“I don’t get it,” Clint said, frustrated. He was pacing back and forth, glancing at the barricaded door every few seconds. “How could SHIELD betray us?”

“It wasn’t SHIELD,” said Steve, trying to remain calm. Flashes of that night kept popping up in his head. Flashed of Bucky. “It was someone inside SHIELD.”

“So you think they have a mole?”

Steve didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. It was obvious enough.

“Almost there,” Natasha said, then a moment later swung the doors open.

Steve wished he had time to tell her how brilliant she was. But they had to keep moving. He would tell her later.

Trying to hide when the entire building was looking for you, is very near impossible. They only managed it for as long as they did because they were the very best at what they did.

But they couldn’t keep going forever.

“We have to make a plan,” Steve whispered. They looked at him.

This was one of those moments. Where you have to make a decision, and then you have to live with that decision. But at the end of the day, it was not a hard decision to make.

Steve used to blame Bucky for what he did that night. Sacrificing himself so that everyone could live. He’d have to stop doing that. It would make him a hypocrite, after today.

He directed Clint and Natasha toward the back door. They trusted him to know what he was doing.

It was easier than he thought it would be, in the end. He told them he was right behind them. He told them to meet up with Sam.

But they never would have made it. Not without Steve staying and causing a distraction.

He found an empty room and broke a window to activate the alarm. It was only a few seconds later that the first guards came inside.

Steve took a lamp from a nearby desk and smashed it on the one guy’s head, while avoiding another guy’s punch. Then he kicked that guy in the chest with his knee. He stared at the three guys that came into the room next. He could take them, easy. But the problem was that they would just keep coming. And Steve won’t be able to fight forever.

Still, he raised his fists in a familiar position and let his mind clear. There was nothing that could sharpen his focus quite like a good fight could.

And he had a feeling this was going to be a good one.

He lost count of how many men showed up in the end. His focus was shifting from one guy to the next, until one of them managed to get behind him.

Steve was pulled to too many different sides. His shoulder and knee were bleeding. He had a broken nose.

He knew that if he kept fighting it would only get worse. It was only a matter of time before someone put a knife in his side. He knew they needed to keep him alive. But not whole.

He also knew he’ll need to be as clear headed as possible if he wanted to escape later. And that meant no more injuries. So he slowed down. He missed a few punches. And he let them grab his arms and pull them behind him. Then one of the bigger guys came forward. He was bald, with face tattoos. He smirked as he raised his gun and hit Steve in the head with the back of it.

It was dark after that.

* * *

When Steve woke up, he felt sore and tired. His shoulder and his knee throbbed with pain but it wasn’t unbearable.

He opened his eyes slowly to survey his environment. He was in a huge room, probably the basement. He was sitting on a chair, his hands tied behind his back, his legs tied to the chair. The room was bare, except for the far end, where there was a desk and some chairs and some guards around it. Among them was the face tattoo guy. He was Steve’s least favorite.

He also seemed to be the leader of their little group, because as soon as one of the minions saw that Steve was awake, he gestured to the face tattoo guy, who turned around and smiled.

Steve felt uneasy looking at that guy. Something about him seemed unhinged.

The guy walked up to Steve, slowly. It was like he considered himself a predator and Steve the helpless prey. Maybe in that moment, he wasn’t so off the mark.

“Well, look at that, the Sleeping Beauty is awake.”

Steve looked at him steadily, not giving him the satisfaction of showing emotion.

The tattoo guy frowned. “No, no. That wouldn’t do. I can’t even see your face properly. That’s just bad manners.”

And as he reached to pull Steve’s cowl of his face, Steve felt fear for the first time. Losing his secret identity meant he will lose his life as Steve Rogers. He will lose everything.

But there was nothing he could do but watch as the face tattoo yanked his cowl off, a triumphant look on his face.

Steve did not stay emotionless. He glared with a burning hatred.

“Well look at that,” the guy said. “He’s pretty.”

He took the knife out and dragged it across Steve’s cheek, not pressing down. “I am going to enjoy screwing up your face.”

The others joined him now. They were all looking at Steve, some with hatred, some with manic smiles. Steve and his team made their lives a lot more difficult. They all wanted a turn with that knife.

And then one of them said, “He looks kinda familiar.”

Steve frowned in confusion. There was no way they could know who he was. He was just a small time artist. Apart from their tattoos, they didn’t look like big art people.

The main guy took the knife from Steve’s face and turned toward his companion. “How so?”

Steve realized it before they did.

But then that same guy who recognized Steve, went back to the desk, rummaged through it, and came back with a magazine. Steve couldn’t believe these guys read magazines. It was just his luck, really.

The guy was flipping through the pages as he walked back to them. He laughed once he found what he was looking for.

The face tattoo guy got impatient. He ripped the magazine out of the other guy’s hands and looked at the pages himself. Then he looked at Steve. Back at the pages. Then he laughed as well, that manic laugh you get when you can’t believe your own luck. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

Others were getting more and more curious, trying to see the magazine. The guy threw it back at them and continued looking at Steve in glee.

“Does he know?” he asked.

Steve’s stomach turned. No, of course Tony didn’t know about him. And now he was going to find out. He was going to find out in the worst possible way, and Steve won’t even be there to explain.

“No,” he said, calmly. He was anything but calm, but he refused to show it.

“Oh, you don’t even know how fun this just turned out to be.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked.

The guy turned toward his minions. “Should I tell him?”

Everyone cheered.

The guy laughed again. “Fine, fine. I’ll tell him,” He seemed to pause for dramatic effect. “Your dear boyfriend is on his way here right now.”

Steve swallowed. “You’re lying.”

The guy just continued to smile. It’s how Steve knew he wasn’t really lying. “You see, Tony Stark got a bit over his head. He started researching our boss. Looking for his weapons, you see. And our boss didn’t like that. So, he kidnaped him.”

Steve was shaking his head now, almost violently. “That’s impossible. Tony’s security…”

“ _Tony’s_ rich boy security,” the guy mocked, “is no match for the Mandarin. What the Mandarin wants, the Mandarin gets. And he wanted Tony Stark.”

Steve stared at him in horror. He no longer cared about masking his feelings.

“Don’t worry,” the guy said. “You’ll see him soon enough. We’ll make it a reunion, I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

And with the last manic smile, he turned around, leaving Steve feeling hollow inside.

* * *

For the next few hours, Steve sat there in panic.

He didn’t want to believe that they had Tony. _His_ Tony.

And it was all his fault. He was the one who invited Tony to his base, who told him about the Mandarin. He was the reason Tony went searching for his weapons.

He got Tony kidnapped.

He would never forgive himself if Tony got hurt.

And then, there was the other problem. They will tell Tony about him. They’ll probably do it right here, in front of him. And Steve will have to watch, unable to do anything to stop it. It was one thing when Steve had to imagine Tony finding out on the TV in his Tower. That would have been bad enough. But this was worse. Much worse.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Tony’s face. The realization, the disbelief. And then the coldness, disgust. He’ll look at Steve like he looked at the Captain that day at the base. And this time Steve won’t be able to come to him later, hold him close and look at his easy smile. It will all be gone.

Tony will hate him and there’s nothing Steve can do about it.

It became torture, the waiting. Steve didn’t want the time to come. But the waiting was killing him.

And then they came.

It was only three of them, the face tattoo guy in the front, two guys behind him, dragging someone with a bag on his head.

Steve would have recognized Tony even if he didn’t know he was coming. Even with the bag over his head.

The leader took another chair and placed it right in front of Steve. And then they sat Tony down on it and tied him up.

Steve could tell that Tony was tense. He seemed to appear in control but he didn’t really know what was waiting for him. He didn’t know what was going to happen once they took the bag off.

When the main guy took hold of the bag, about to pull it off, he hesitated. Steve looked up at him and the guy smiled and winked. And then he did it.

Tony didn’t open his eyes at first. Steve held his breath as he waited. And then Tony slowly blinked, adjusting to the light. And the first thing he saw was Steve.

The horror on his face will haunt Steve forever.

“Steve,” he whispered.

“Hey, Tony.”

Tony swallowed. And then he looked at the tattoo guy with rage. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? He has nothing to do with this.” When the guy just smiled, Tony hissed, “If you touch a hair on his head, I will skin you alive.”

“Don’t worry,” the guy said. “He’s not here because of you. This was just a happy coincidence.”

Steve had never seen Tony look so furious. He was always so calm and collected. It was a part of him almost, how he could stare down any situation with an almost bored look on his face. But not this time. He was angry, and he was scared. Scared for Steve.

“Well, we’re going to leave you two alone. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about,” the guy was saying, faking disinterest. Steve didn’t trust him for a minute.

But then he turned his back and started walking toward the door, his two minions behind him. And Steve felt relief for a second, a hope that he would be able to explain everything to Tony himself.

But it was just an illusion, a way to mess with Steve’s head, because just before he left, the face tattoo guy turned one last time, as if remembering. “Oh, and by the way, Captain, your team has been looking for you. Don’t worry, we sent them on quite a wild goose chase. They won’t find you here.” With that he winked and walked out of the room.

Steve was pretty sure he stopped breathing. He looked at Tony, whose face was blank, processing. But he wasn’t called a genius for nothing. He figured it out right away. He was trying to find evidence that it wasn’t true, that Steve wasn’t who this guy said he was.

Tony was looking at Steve now, in wonder. Steve didn’t quite understand his look of disbelief.

And then Tony laughed. Big, booming, tears-in-your-eyes kind of laugh.

“Tony?” Steve asked, unsure.

“W… Wait a second,” Tony was still chuckling, still looking at Steve like he was an impossible piece of a physics equation.

“Tony,” Steve said again, desperate. “I know this is a lot to take in. But, please, if you would just let me explain…”

“No, no, I get it.” And then Tony got serious. “It actually makes more sense than I’m willing to admit, if only because I should have known,” the last part was said in a whisper, as if Tony was speaking to himself.

But Steve didn’t have time to decipher what Tony meant. The minions could come back any second now and Steve had a lot he had to say.

“Look, Tony, I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have lied to you but… And now you’re here because of me, and if you get hurt it will be my fault, and Tony, I can’t… Tony, I’m so sorry.”

“Steve. Steve, slow down,” Tony said. “First, stop apologizing.”

“But…”

“No, really, don’t. If you apologize, then I’ll have to, and let’s just not.”

“What? But I lied to you.”

Tony just kept looking at him. He seemed nervous, disbelief still coloring his expression.

“And now they have you,” Steve continued. “And it never would have happened if I didn’t give you that information about the Mandarin. I never should have involved you in this part of my life. I never should have involved myself in your life at all.”

Tony looked to the side. “Steve, it’s not your fault I’m here.”

“But Tony, didn’t you listen to what I said…”

“No, Steve,” Tony interrupted. “It’s not your fault.” Then he looked back at him. “I’m here because I want to be here.”

“What?” Steve frowned. “That makes no sense.”

Tony shifted on the chair. “The thing is, I’ve been looking for my weapons for a while now. Even before you contacted me. I have found most of them, but the ones that the Mandarin took… They have been hard to track. I’ve been hitting a dead end for a while now. But then you guys found some of them. And it gave me an idea. See, until then, I’ve been laying low. You couldn’t track anything back to me. But then I started making some noise. The Mandarin knew you involved me now. And I knew he couldn’t afford me snooping around.”

“So, what, you’ve intentionally set yourself up as a target to the Mandarin? Why would you do that?” Steve was so angry in that moment. All he wanted to do was protect Tony, and the stupid man kept getting himself in trouble.

“Because,” Tony said meaningfully. “If I couldn’t find the Mandarin…”

“You made the Mandarin bring you to him,” Steve finished. It was brilliant. Mad, but brilliant.

Tony shrugged. He didn’t seem at all concern about the fact that they were tied up, unable to escape.

“What about you?” Tony asked. “How did you get here?”

Steve told him. Tony didn’t seem surprised about the SHIELD mole. He didn’t seem surprised that Steve let himself get captured so that his team could get away.

“So, what now? Your plan was to get here, do you have a plan on how to get out?” Steve asked, after a while.

“I do.”

Steve waited, but Tony said nothing more. “Well?”

Tony just looked at him for a second. “Steve. I’m not angry at you for not telling me who you are.”

The non-sequitur made Steve frown. “Why not? You have every right to be.”

“Because I lied to you too.”

Steve shook his head. He knew Tony had secrets. He told Steve he didn’t want to tell him yet, and Steve was fine with that. But Steve knew already. Because he was the Captain and he found out about Tony’s weapons before Tony got a chance to tell him himself. “That’s different.”

Tony sighed. “You know they’re watching us, right?”

Steve looked at the top, left corner. There was a camera there.

“Can they hear us?” Steve asked.

“Not likely,” Tony said. “Still, once I get us out we won’t have much time.”

“Wait, what?”

“So, I’m gonna need you to focus, okay? I’ll explain everything once we get out, but until then, just follow my lead.”

“Tony, what are you talking about?”

“Steve, can you do that? Can you focus until we get out? I’ll answer any questions you have then, I promise.”

Steve was starting to have a bad feeling about this whole situation. But he nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Tony repeated. “Are you ready?”

Steve wanted to ask questions. He wanted to know what Tony was about to do. But he didn’t. Because he trusted him. So he nodded again, not saying anything.

Tony took a deep breath, then started to fumble with his hands behind his back. Steve couldn’t see what he was doing but it looked like he was trying to reach for something. He wondered if Tony had a knife hidden in his sleeve and how the guards didn’t find it.

And then there was a click. And the ropes fell on the floor and Tony’s hands were in front of him. And on one of them there was a gauntlet. Steve knew that design, those colors. He knew them very well. Tony was wearing an Iron Man gauntlet.

* * *

Steve didn’t have time to think. His mind went completely blank.

He watched in shocked silence as Tony untied them with brutal efficiency. He moved to the door, to check the hallway and it took Steve a few slow seconds to join him.

He was staring at the gauntlet. When Tony saw him, he whispered, “Later.”

Steve shook his head, trying to focus. Later. There will be time to think about it later.

They started moving down the corridor, Tony in the front with his hand raised in a familiar position. Steve’s chest tightened.

There was a noise coming toward them, and Tony pushed Steve into a small room. They waited, holding their breath, until they heard the guards getting closer. Just as they were about to come into view, Tony jumped out, knocking one of them out with his gauntlet. Steve joined him, thankful for the fight.

Steve stole one of the henchman’s guns, and it was a quick work after that. Tony’s gauntlet gave him an edge, even when he wasn’t firing from it, and Steve was itching for a fight, which made him more ruthless than usual.

“More will be coming soon,” Tony said. “We have to move.”

Steve didn’t say a word, just followed Tony further down the corridor.

“This way,” Tony said, taking a right turn.

“Do you know where the exit is?”

“We’re not looking for the exit.”

They made a few more steps before Steve asked, “What are we looking for?”

“The control room.”

Steve didn’t ask why. He trusted Tony to know what he’s doing. But he needed to keep his mind off of the obvious.

“Why didn’t you fire it?” he asked, abruptly. When Tony looked back at him, he gestured toward the gauntlet.

Tony turned back. “Because I can only do it once.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not connected to the arc reactor,” Tony said absently, looking from room to room.

“What’s the arc reactor?

Tony stopped in the middle of the hallway. Steve almost ran into him.

“Questions. Later,” Tony said, looking back at him.

Steve didn’t answer him.

Tony sighed, looked around and when he saw that there was no one there, he turned towards Steve fully and kissed him.

And Steve was confused and frustrated and worried, but Tony was kissing him so nothing else mattered.

“Do you trust me?” Tony asked against his lips.

“I do.”

“Okay,” Tony said, giving him one last kiss. “Come on.”

They kept searching the rooms. They ran into more guards looking for them, but they dispatched them quickly enough. They were running out of time.

And then Tony found the control room. It was big, and one entire wall was covered with monitor screens. Two guards were seated in front of them. Tony slammed one of them with his gauntlet, while Steve slammed the other with the back of his gun. Tony sat down and started typing.

Steve stood there for a second, just watching Tony work. Then Tony said, “Watch the door.”

Steve went to the door and glanced at the hallway. It was empty. For now.

Tony was still typing. The gauntlet didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Steve still couldn’t comprehend it. He didn’t want to acknowledge it in his mind.

But the hallway was quiet and the only thing you could hear were the lightning fast clicks of the keyboard. And Steve didn’t have any more excuses not to acknowledge it.

Tony Stark was Iron Man.

Tony Stark, Steve’s boyfriend, was Iron Man.

It made sense, in hindsight. If anyone were to create an Iron Man armor, it would be Tony. It was exactly like him, to make something brilliant and use it to help people, without taking any of the credit. And the way Tony talked about Iron Man, like it was something bigger than him, even when Steve didn’t know they were one and the same. The painting he bought from Steve and placed it right in the middle of his entry hall.

But then there was everything else. Because Steve didn’t like Iron Man. He was arrogant and frustrating and he didn’t know how to take orders. He made unnecessary risks and he constantly breached their security just to show that he could. He was bright and loud and brilliant.

He was Tony.

And on one hand, he was so much more in love with him, knowing Tony went out there, fighting the same battles Steve did.

But on the other, he was so furious, because how could Tony be that person, the person Steve so passionately disliked.

They were undoubtedly the same person. But how could Steve feel so differently about them?

“Do you trust your SHIELD contact?” Tony asked, abruptly.

“What?” Steve asked, still stuck in his thoughts.

“Your SHIELD contact,” Tony repeated, not looking away from the monitors. “Do you trust her?”

“With my life,” Steve said without hesitation.

“I’m sending her the rest of the Mandarin’s locations. With a message about a mole in her ranks.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Steve. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Well, we can’t hit up all the bases ourselves,” said Tony dryly. “And it was your idea to include SHIELD anyway. You know, instead of calling Iron Man.” He looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“Yes. From me.”

“Well, I didn’t know that at the time, did I?”

“Yes, well, I still thought it was funny. Frustrating, but funny,” Tony said, turning back to the monitors.

And Steve saw in that moment, more clearly than ever, how Tony was the same person as Iron Man. This was the person who could get under his skin with just a few words. Who could make him mad and frustrated and annoyed with a one liner. But it was also the person who could make him laugh more than anyone, who could make him feel happier than he’s been in a very long time.

Steve looked at the monitors. They showed various maps, with all the Mandarin’s bases. Steve came closer to look at them. He turned to Tony.

“Can you send it to Widow as well?”

“Sure.”

“And can you tell her I’m fine?”

Tony’s lips pulled in a small, soft smile. “Of course.”

Steve had to look away from him. Instead he watched the monitors, screens bright and uncomprehending, but still less confusing than the man beside him.

Suddenly, there was a noise in the hallway. Tony looked at Steve with wide eyes. “I thought you were watching the door.”

“I was,” Steve said, panicked.

Tony looked back at the monitors. “Steve, I need you to buy me a few more minutes.”

Steve gave a tight nod. “I can do that.”

Tony didn’t respond, seemingly lost in the screens, but Steve could tell he was worried in the tense lines of his shoulders.

Steve wanted to know what he thought about it all. Their whole situation. He wanted to shake him and ask him how he felt about it. Was he as confused as Steve was? Did he not care? Did he still like Steve?

But there was no time for questions. Later. They would talk about it later. They just had to get out of there first.

When the first henchmen barged into the room, Steve took care of them pretty quickly. But he knew they had been discovered. More were coming, and he had to be prepared if he was going to buy Tony more time.

He stood there, in the middle of the room, trying to focus his mind on the fight to come.

But this time, when they came, they didn’t attack him.

Instead, _he_ came. His tattoos seemed more sinister in the bright light of the computer screens, and the minions surrounded him like a flock of birds.

Steve tensed. His first instinct was to attack, recklessly and uncaringly, but he had to keep their attention away from Tony, and involving one guy in a fight and letting the others roam free would not accomplish that.

He had to keep their attention on himself. Make them invested in the fight, cheering on their leader. With a crowd like this, he hoped it wouldn’t be so hard to do.

“Thought you might hide behind your minions, like last time.”

The thug smiled, all teeth. “No, you’re all mine.”

“You’re making this awfully easy for me,” Steve said. But he didn’t believe it would be easy in the slightest. He could recognize a good fighter when he saw one.

The tattoo guy smirked. Then he deliberately looked behind Steve, where Tony was still furiously typing on the keyboards, as if he knew Steve was trying to divert their attention from him. 

"Your boyfriend seems busy."

Steve clenched his jaw. He knew it was only a matter of time before they went after Tony, considering the amount of damage he could do on their computers. But he hoped they would be dumb enough to try and get rid of him first. 

"He's the least of your problems now," Steve said, hoping they would leave Tony alone for a few more minutes to focus on him. 

The leader shook his head, not buying Steve's sad attempts at keeping his attention. He nodded at the guys on his left and gestured toward Tony. 

Steve started moving at the same time they did, getting in their way. His punches were brutally efficient but he was distracted, watching as more and more minions tried to move past him and get to Tony. He couldn't hold all of them forever, no matter how much he wanted to. 

"Tony, hurry up," he yelled, narrowly avoiding someone's elbow in his face. 

Then the face tattoo guy was suddenly there, and it was all Steve could do to stay on his feet. He lost count of the other guys, but hoped Tony was holding his own. He had to remind himself that Tony was Iron Man, and no matter what else that meant, he wasn't a stranger to fighting. 

So Steve had to trust Tony, and focus on the punches flying toward him. The guy was fast, but so was Steve, their movements tough to follow for anyone but them. Steve thought he could get an upper hand, try to use his slightly bigger frame to overpower him, but the tattoo guy expected it, wanted it to happen. Despite trying not to, the fact was that Steve's mind was still on Tony, and it cost him. Trying to end the fight fast was not going in Steve's advantage. 

The face tattoo guy was pushing him back, punches fast and unforgiving. Steve felt off balance, and he didn't know how to regain it back. 

And then, without warning, a knife appeared at the other guy's hand, and it was all Steve could do to block it from plunging into his ribs. But then the second knife was in the other hand, going toward his side, and Steve braced himself for the pain. 

It never came. Instead, the familiar sound came from behind Steve, the one he usually heard from above during the fights. 

It was only when the pressure eased, and the guy slid from Steve's grasp, that Steve realized he was shot in the head by Tony's repulsor gauntlet. 

Steve turned around and stared at Tony incredulously. The henchmen that managed to slip past Steve were on the floor, unconscious. Tony himself was standing among them, unharmed. 

"You're welcome," he said, when Steve kept on staring. It was a snarky response, something Iron Man would have said. But also Tony, now that Steve thought about it, though with Tony, Steve would have found it more endearing.

Tony started moving, not back to the computers, but toward Steve. He didn't stop when he reached him, but kept on moving, and Steve realized he was getting out of the room. 

The realization was what finally got Steve to move, stepping over the face tattoo guy, and following Tony out of the room. 

"What now?" Steve asked, still on the edge. They might have got rid of the main guy, but there were still plenty of henchmen around the compound. 

"We wait for the ride." 

"What ride?" 

"You'll see." 

Steve clenched his fists in annoyance. Despite not wearing the suit, it was getting harder not to see Iron Man in everything Tony did.

And it made Steve ache, more than it should have. Because that was still Tony, a man that he cared about, the man that made him more alive than he felt in a very long time. But it hurt, because how could that be Tony, when Tony was this, arrogant and flippant and uncaring. When Tony was Iron Man, and Iron Man was everything Steve disliked in a person. 

"Maybe you could stop being so fucking vague, and tell me what the hell is going on for once," Steve snapped, not able to help himself. 

Tony froze in his tracks. He turned around, and Steve knew that for the first time since he found out about him, Tony saw the Captain, someone he disagreed and fought with constantly, and not Steve Rogers, his sweet and innocent boyfriend. 

The change in the atmosphere was almost tangible. When before their focus on the fight ahead was making them ignore the matter of their identities, now it all came flowing out, destructive and dangerous. 

Tony's face was a mask, blank and cold, and for the first time since they started dating, Steve couldn't read a single emotion on his face. 

"Maybe you could chill out, and follow my lead, since I'm the only one here who actually has a plan," Tony's voice was hard, unyielding, and it sounded so much like Iron Man's even without the voice modulator. 

"Maybe if you told me what that plan is, I could help." 

"Maybe... Goddammit... Maybe you could trust me for once." 

"It's not about trust," Steve yelled. They were still in the building, and more bad guys could find them any second now, but it's like neither of them cared in that moment. "It's about you always thinking you can do everything on your own. You're not the only person stuck in this situation." 

"Well, I wasn't the one stupid enough to get myself captured without a plan." 

The words were a blow more than the others were. Tony seemed to realize it as soon as he said it, remembered the story of Bucky, and why this situation was so much more painful for Steve than it should have been. Tony's eyes were wide and regretful, and Steve felt a spark of pleasure at making him show emotion.

"I'm sorry I was trying to save my team from certain death." 

Tony shook his head. "There are easier ways to do that," his voice was soft now, almost sad. "You accuse me of doing everything alone, but you do it just as much Steve. Captain." 

"At least I have a team," Steve said, not willing to acknowledge Tony's words. 

"I don't need a team." 

"You needed us." 

"I didn't. You made things easier sometimes, sure, but I could have done it alone. I never needed you." 

And while the words before hurt, the past not quite yet healed, these ones broke his heart. He felt numb, his whole body frozen. He knew Tony was talking about the team. The Captain, the organization. But it was Steve Rogers who heard those words, coming out of Tony Stark's mouth. 

Steve nodded. He stood there for a second, his body tense, his face was a blank expression. It was easy in that moment to keep a cold face. He wondered if it was this easy for Tony. 

"Okay, then," he said, and started walking again. He didn't look at Tony as he passed by. 

Tony followed him, but Steve could hear hesitation in his steps. He didn't know how they managed to screw everything up so quickly. But even now, being confused and mad and hurt, everything he wanted to do was turn around and hold Tony, and not care about anything else. 

The outside was sunny and warm, so unlike Steve's mood. He didn't recognize the landscape, but he knew they had to still be in New York. 

Tony came to stand beside him, close but not touching. The urge to hold him and forget about everything else was still there, but there was also something in Steve that just wanted to move away. Leave Tony behind and never look back. But it was too late for walking away. His heart would not be safe either way. 

"You probably don't remember, but a few years ago, I disappeared for 3 months. Then I came back, as if nothing had happened, and the whole thing was swept under a rug. A few months later, Obbie died." Tony looked at Steve, and his eyes were vulnerable. He was opening up, Steve realized. And though he was mad and hurt and confused, Steve wanted to listen to him. He wanted to know what really happened. 

"For those 3 months, I was in an Afghanistan cave, being tortured and blackmailed to make weapons," before Steve could react, he carried on. "Instead, I made the first Iron Man suit. I got out. 

"When I came back, all I wanted to do was shut down the weapons division at SI. But Obbie told me not to. He told me to wait, at least until things settled down. I decided to listen to him, at least until I had the solid grasp at what was happening in my company. I knew someone had to have sold my weapons illegally. I wanted to know who it was."

Tony paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"You found out it was him," Steve said, quietly.

Tony nodded.

"How did he die?" Steve asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"It doesn't matter," Tony said, then corrected himself. "Well, I guess it does. Maybe I'll tell you someday. But that's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"The point is that someone really close to me betrayed me. Someone I looked up to, someone who was like a father to me. He wasn't the first one, but it hurt more than others. Since then I told myself, I was better alone. Not putting my trust in people was easier than letting them hurt me."

Steve wanted to say something, but the tightness in his throat didn't let the words out.

"And then there was Yinsen."

"What?" Steve managed.

"He was someone who helped me during those three months in the cave. He died saving my life. So you see, when I care about people, they either betray me or they die because of me. Being alone seemed like a great option when those were your choices."

"What about Pepper?" Steve couldn't help but ask. He knew she was always there for Tony, and that they loved each other in their own special way.

"Pepper and Rhodey were an exception, if only because they were already in my life. And they wouldn't let me put distance between us, no matter how much I tried."

They were quiet for a few moment. Steve still didn't know what to say, so he just murmured, "I'm sorry."

Tony shook his head. "And then I met you." 

Steve snapped his head toward Tony, in shock. "What?" 

"Then I met you," Tony repeated, like the sentence didn't reverberate in Steve's head already like an echo. "And at first I just thought you were really hot," Tony said, and Steve fought a blush. "But you were also so different, and earnest and innocent. You stood out. You made me want to know you. I looked at you, and that voice in my head that told me I shouldn’t trust anybody went quiet." 

Tony paused at that, but Steve was too stunned to say anything. 

Tony's mouth twisted. "Still, while you might have been an exception, the Captain and his crew were not. It was easier to put you guys at a distance. It was easy to put the Captain at a distance. We were just so different. And I knew that if he didn't want me around, the others would back him up. Back you up."

Steve's chest tightened. "So what are you saying? You were just pretending that whole time to be an asshole?" 

Tony raised his brows. "Not exactly. But maybe I antagonized you more than I should have. I figured out pretty quickly what your buttons were, and I pushed them. And I know I shouldn't have." 

“Tony…” Steve was at a loss for words. But before he could find them, he heard the familiar sound above his head. He looked up expecting to see the red and gold suit and instead saw pieces of it, flying toward Tony. He watched in fascination as the pieces enveloped him until the only thing he could see was Tony’s face. Tony caught the helmet in his hand but didn’t put it on.

“Here’s our ride,” Tony said. He was still tense from their conversation, and there was wariness in his eyes that Steve wasn’t familiar with.

“Our?” Steve asked, baffled.

“Well, you can wait for SHIELD to come get you. They should be here soon enough,” he turned to look at Steve. It was a striking visual, Tony in the suit. Like two pieces of puzzle you couldn’t imagine fit together until you tried to place them next to each other, and then you couldn’t believe you didn’t see it sooner. “Or,” Tony continued, voice hopeful, “I can give you a ride.”

Steve smiled despite himself. “How would that work?”

“You would have to hold on very tightly,” Tony said. There was that teasing tone in his voice that Steve missed. “And you would have to trust me,” his voice grew somber. This wasn’t just about the flight. It was about so much more. Tony was opening up to him, and it was up to Steve if he wanted to hear more. And there was always going to be only one answer to that question.

Steve came closer and wrapped his hands around Tony’s neck. “I do,” he repeated his earlier words and hoped that Tony could hear everything else he wanted to say in them. Steve was in this, despite everything. He was ready, finally, for the long overdue, honest conversation.

“Let’s go home, then,” Tony whispered. He put the helmet on his face and wrapped his hands around Steve’s waist, holding him tightly. And Steve was left staring at that emotionless, cold mask again. But he knew who was in it now. And instead of the usual frustration, he felt only hope looking at the golden surface. He smiled, and he knew, with certainty, that the man inside smiled back.

And then Steve was flying.

* * *

When they got back to the Tower, Tony didn’t lead Steve to the penthouse. Instead, he took him to a place Steve had never been in before, a place he knew meant more to Tony than any other. His workshop.

It was big and wonderful and futuristic, and everything beyond Steve’s imagination. Tony looked so comfortable in this space, and it was easy to see him spending all his free time here, building and creating.

But Steve’s eyes were drawn to the far wall, where Iron Man armors, at least a dozen of them, stood behind glass, on display.

Steve stared at them for a long time. He always found the armor to be a beautiful work of art, even when the man inside it drove him mad.

Tony himself was pushing some buttons, as if he wanted to appear busy, but Steve could see that he was almost nervous, expectant. The armor that brought them here was standing beside him, the light in its chest dark.

“This is…” Steve started, and Tony looked up, his face natural but his eyes vulnerable. “Beautiful.”

Tony stared, surprised. “Okay. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“And what did you expect?”

“I don’t know,” Tony said, crossing his hands. “Yelling?”

“Why would I yell at you?”

“Come on, Steve. Tell me you’re not mad. You just found out your boyfriend is actually the guy you hate.”

“I don’t hate you.” When Tony raised an eyebrow, Steve elaborated. “I don’t hate Iron Man.”

“Well you certainly don’t like him.”

“I like _you_.”

“And who am I?” Tony asked. He was usually so full of energy, it was weird to see him be so still, so focused. Serious. “Am I Tony Stark? A genius, billionaire with a narcissistic streak and a penchant for young blondes? Am I Iron Man, a guy who can’t listen to orders and likes to do everything by himself, which would include big explosions and property damage? Am I your boyfriend or the guy you won’t call when things get serious because you don’t trust him not to blow up your boyfriend for allegedly illegally selling weapons? Who am I Steve? Who am I to you?”

“You’re all of that,” Steve said, after a moment. “And you’re so much more than that. You’re the smartest person I know. You care about others and you fight for what’s right. You’re fast and brilliant, and sometimes I can’t keep up with you, and I always think you’re going to realize how much I can’t compare. You saw something in me when you thought I was just a small-time artist from Brooklyn. You saw me when I didn’t even see myself. When I thought all I was, all I could ever be was the Captain, you showed me that Steve Rogers was someone as well, a person worth your attention.” Steve was steadily getting closer to Tony, until there was almost no space between them at all.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t like me very much as Iron Man.”

“You know, there is one thing that both Tony Stark and Iron Man made me feel.”

“And what’s that,” Tony asked, looking him straight in the eyes, challenging.

“Alive.” 

Tony inhaled sharply. He looked away from Steve, and laughed, quiet and disbelieving. “And is that a good thing?”

“I think so,” Steve smiled. “You know, I never got it. I never understood why you got under my skin so much as Iron Man. I think nobody could understand it. I was always so collected, so detached. A picture of professionalism.”

“Yeah, I can kinda see that,” Tony joked.

“But _you_. Oh, you made me so angry. I didn’t even know why.”

“I told you. I was pushing your buttons.”

“It’s not that,” Steve interrupted. “I mean, to a degree, but you certainly weren’t the only one who ever disagreed with me or didn’t follow my orders. I think… I think, looking back, maybe there was more to it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… Maybe I was jealous.”

“What?” Tony asked, eyes wide.

“It’s just… You seemed to get along with everyone except me. It was like I was the only one you didn’t like. And I think that bothered me more than I was willing to admit.”

“I think I liked it. That I could rile you up like that when everyone always said you were usually so stoic.”

Steve shook his head. “You _would_ like that.”

“But not all of it was to annoy you, you know. Some things just had that benefit.”

“Like what?” Steve asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, you know how you always got mad at me when I sent you the warning sign before coming in?”

“Yes,” Steve said, still suspicious. It was one of the things that annoyed him the most, the casual showcase of Iron Man’s ability to hack their private servers. It always seemed like a breach of trust.

“And did it ever occur to you that I was doing that to protect your identities? So that you would have the time to put on a cowl or a mask before I just barged in?”

Oh. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t see it that way.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Tony rolled his eyes.

“But we do always wear our uniforms on the base. I put that as the number one rule.”

“Of course you did,” Tony said, fondly. “Still. Better safe than sorry.”

“I get that. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.”

“It’s fine. We both did.”

“But Tony,” Steve took Tony’s hands in his own, drawing strength from the familiarity of holding them, “I don’t want to assume anything anymore. I want to get to know you. Every side of you. I want to go out there and know that you’re with me, watching my six. And me watching yours. You were right when you said that I tend to do things alone. Even with the team, no matter how much I trust them, my default was always to try and take care of things my way, keep as much of the fight on myself and not get anyone involved more than necessary. But I want that to change. I want us to be together completely. To trust each other. To be able to go out in the field and know that the other is right there.”

“You want that?” Tony asked. “Even after everything?”

“More than ever,” Steve said, without hesitation. “And I know it’s not going to be easy. And we’re both going to fall into old habits. And it’s going to take some time to understand each other completely. But I’ve never wanted to try something more in my life. Tony, these last few months have been the happiest I’ve ever been. And I like to think I made you happy as well. And I want to continue doing that, for as long as you want me.”

Tony stared at him for a long time. Steve let him, trying to convey everything he just said in his eyes.

He was just getting worried, opening his mouth to say something, when Tony kissed him. Steve gasped into the kiss, putting his arm around Tony’s waist to bring him closer. They both kissed like they were starving for it, like after today they didn’t think they would get to do this again. It was messy and fast, but by now they knew each other well enough to make it somewhat coordinated. Steve pushed Tony behind until he reached one of the many tables, then grabbed him by the thighs and lifted him up. Tony spread his legs so that Steve could fit between them, and they were still kissing, barely stopping to breathe. Steve started kissing down Tony’s neck, enjoying Tony’s silent gasps, when a voice suddenly interrupted them.

“Excuse me, sir?” the voice said, and Steve flinched so hard he would have fallen down if Tony’s legs didn’t keep him in place. He looked around, but there was no one there, and the doors to the workshop remained closed.

He turned around when he heard Tony chuckle. He was a mess, lips red, hair disheveled, eyes bright with humor. He was gorgeous.

“Sorry, I forgot I didn’t introduce you to JARVIS yet.”

“JARVIS?”

“He’s my AI,” Tony said, “Say hi, JARVIS.”

“Hello, Mr. Rogers.”

“Hi?” Steve said, uncertain. He looked at Tony, “You have your own AI?”

“I have several,” Tony said with a wicked smile.

As if summoned, the machines at the end of the room started moving, and Steve realized they were big robotic hands.

“Holy shit,” Steve whispered. He patted the robots when they came closer, in awe.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason you interrupted me, J,” Tony was saying, sliding down the table and turning on a hologram. Steve was still staring in awe.

“Yes, sir. You’ve got a message both from SHIELD and the Captain’s organization.”

“You know, you really need a name for that,” Tony said to Steve over his shoulder. “Show me the messages, J.”

The one from Peggy showed all the bases SHIELD has managed to hit up in the last half an hour. Tony looked impressed and Steve smiled. Peggy always _was_ brutally efficient.

“Look at this,” Tony said, pointing to another message that showed up. “They found the mole. Or moles. Seems like SHIELD has a bit of a corruption problem.”

“You don’t seem that surprised.”

“I actually suspected it for a while,” Tony said. When Steve looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. “Just some things didn’t add up. But I wasn’t sure, not until today.”

“Well, I’m sure Peggy will handle it, now that she knows about it.”

Tony hummed, not answering. “You also have a message from Black Widow. She seems worried for you.”

 _Get your ass to the base now, Captain,_ was what the message said, and Steve smiled.

“Wait, she wrote that to you?” Steve asked.

“Yes, I told her you’re with me.”

“Which one exactly? Iron Man or Tony Stark? Or does she know you’re one and the same? Crap, everyone will know I’m the Captain now as well,” Steve felt a moment of panic wash over him before Tony spoke.

“Relax Steve, no one knows you’re the Captain. And Widow sent this to Iron Man, because that’s who I said was captured with you at the base.”

“But… But they will know. The Mandarin’s henchmen. And there was footage…”

“Steve,” Tony turned to face him and brought his hands to Steve’s shoulders. “I deleted all the footage, and not even SHIELD will manage to salvage it. Trust me on this, okay, technological genius here, remember?” Tony smiled. “And your friend, Mrs. Carter has taken care of any witnesses that would talk, okay? We’re safe. I promise.”

Steve nodded. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Tony smiled, and Steve was so relived he didn’t lose it, this warm and affectionate Tony with his soft smiles and his warm eyes. “Now, I’m sending a message back to Widow that I’m bringing you back to the base in an hour. Is that okay? I thought we could talk some more before confronting your friends.”

“We weren’t exactly talking when they interrupted us.”

Tony didn’t blush but Steve could tell it was a close thing. “Yeah, well. We can do that after. I do really think we should talk some more.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed. “What about?”

Tony bit his lip. “I want to tell you my story. The story about Iron Man, full version.”

“Tony. You know you don’t have to do that, not now.”

“I know. But I want to.”

“Okay. Of course. I’d love to hear it.”

“Come on, then,” Tony said. He took his hand and pulled, and Steve followed, knowing he would follow this man to the end of the world and not minding one bit.

* * *

Almost two hours later, Tony brought them down in the hangar area. It was weird coming in from this side, especially when he had spent so long looking up to see Iron Man coming and going from that exact spot.

“You’re late,” Natasha said, when they were steady on their feet.

And it was true, but Steve couldn’t regret it. Once he stared talking to Tony, he couldn’t stop. Tony told him everything, about Afghanistan, about Stane, about the hunt for his weapons. And in turn Steve told Tony more about the war, about what led to the founding of the organization. They talked until it seemed like they would never stop, until JARVIS had to alert them that Black Widow was sending them more messages, saying that their hour was up and they better hurry or she would kick their respective asses.

Now here they were, in front of Steve’s small but loyal team. Steve knew that Tony probably connected Steve’s storied about his friends to Captain’s teammates, but he didn’t mention it, so Steve would wait until his team was caught up to bring it up.

“Sorry,” Steve was surprised to hear Tony say. “We had a lot to discuss.”

“Yeah, we might have forgotten to look at the time,” Steve added with a sheepish smile.

“It’s weird to see them get along,” said Clint. “Does anyone else find that weird? It can’t just be me.”

“It is a bit unusual,” agreed Thor.

“Did you guys hit your head or something?” asked Sam.

Steve and Tony looked at each other. Steve felt amazed that even with the faceplate he could tell what Tony was thinking. He nodded.

They discussed this, of course. Whether Tony was going to reveal to the team who he was. And though Steve had told him that they didn’t have to rush, Tony had wanted to do it as soon as possible. “Like ripping off a bandaid,” he had said.

So when he let the armor open up and Tony Stark stepped out of it, Steve smiled at the surprised gasps of his teammates.

“What the fuck?” Clint exclaimed, eyes wide. He looked at Natasha, who of course looked as composed as ever. “Did you know about this?”

“I had my suspicions,” Natasha said, as vague as ever.

“Bullshit,” Tony said.

She just shrugged, an unreadable smile on her face.

“I can’t believe this,” Sam said. “How… Jesus Christ Steve, this could have only happened to you, I swear.”

“I guess it makes sense,” Bruce said thoughtfully. “There are not a lot of people who could invent something like the Iron Man armor. Stark’s area of expertise fit it perfectly.”

Tony smiled at Bruce. “Oh, you have no idea how much I had to censor myself not to say something too out of left field for Iron Man. You have to let me join you in the lab.”

Bruce smiled. He was more subtle about it but he seemed as excited as Tony to have someone else to talk science with. “Of course.”

“Oh we’re going to have so much fun,” Tony said. Then paused and looked at Steve. “Some other time though. I’m busy today.”

Steve couldn’t quite keep the grin off his face.

“So, does that mean you guys are okay?” Natasha asked. Everyone seemed to realize at once that Tony Stark being Iron Man would only complicate their relationship considering Steve’s previous feelings toward their armored ally.

But they didn’t need to worry. “Yes,” Steve said simply, taking Tony’s hand in his. “Guys, I know this is not how I planned to it, but meet Tony Stark. My boyfriend. You might also know him as Iron Man.”

Sam and Clint shared a look. “Definitely weird,” Sam confirmed, and Clint nodded, but they were both smiling so Steve didn’t think they minded.

“Oh, crap,” Clint suddenly said.

“What?” Steve asked, worried.

But Clint was still turned toward Sam. “This means that not only will we have to give a shovel talk to Tony Stark but Iron Man as well.”

Sam’s eyes widened in horror, while Steve chuckled, relived. “Guys, you don’t need to give him a shovel talk.”

“But Steve, we have to,” Sam insisted. “It’s tradition.”

“What are we going to say though?” Clint asked, nervous. He turned toward Tony. “If you hurt Steve, we’re going to kick your ass, even though you have bodyguards and money and very expensive lawyers. Oh, and a highly weaponized, could-turn-us-to-dust-in-a-second, suit of armor.”

“Like that, but maybe stop after _kick your ass_ ,” Sam suggested.

“Don’t worry, guys,” Tony said, amused. “If I hurt him I have a feeling not even all of that will be enough to stop you from coming after me.”

Clint smiled, more Hawkeye than not. “I like him, he’s smart.”

Tony nodded, an acknowledgement passing over the two men. When he looked over at Steve and saw his frown, Tony said jokingly, “Don’t worry, they might pass all of that, but they will never get pass Pepper.”

Natasha cleared her throat. “I could.”

Tony looked at her. “Duly noted,” he said, and then, just to be a little shit, added, “Natasha.”

Steve groaned. “Do you have a death wish?” he asked, because they didn’t even discuss his teammate’s identities with each other, let alone in front of said team.

“Not anymore,” Tony said, quietly enough for only Steve to hear and suddenly serious. And it was something they touched upon, Tony’s stunt with palladium poisoning, but it was still a heavy topic. But Steve was glad to hear that, as Tony had helped him come to terms with both sides of his identity, he had helped Tony as well, and that meant more to Steve than he could ever express to him.

He needed to be alone with Tony, now.

“Okay, I think that’s our cue to go,” Steve turned to his teammates. “Take a day off. We took down most of Mandarin’s operations today, and I don’t think he’ll recover from it for quite some time. So you deserve a break.”

“Yeah, but SHIELD did all the heavy lifting,” said Clint with a pout.

“I didn’t think you’d turn down a cause for celebration,” Bruce teased. Clint stuck his tongue out at him. “Very mature,” Bruce rolled his eyes.

“We have to meet again soon, though,” Sam spoke up. “Something more casual, without masks.”

Tony nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Okay, let’s go, show’s over,” Natasha said, and started to usher her teammates out of the hangar.

After some grumbling, mostly from Clint, she was the last one to leave the room, turning only to give Steve a wink before closing the door after her.

“Well,” Tony said, “That was something.”

“Yeah, sorry. You’ll get used to them.”

Tony shook his head. “I’m not worried about them. We got along fine when I was Iron Man, I’m sure we’ll get along fine when I’m Tony too.”

“I know you will,” Steve said. He turned to look at Tony properly. “But you know this means you’ll have to join the organization now. You have no choice.”

“Hmm,” Tony pretended to think it over. “I’ll do it under one condition.”

“Which one?” Steve asked, amused.

“You have to stop calling it the organization. You guys need a name.”

Steve laughed. “Okay. Got any ideas?”

Tony’s hand trailed down Steve’s arm, sending shivers up Steve’s spine. “I don’t know. It would have to be something catchy.”

“Of course,” Steve said. Tony looped his hands around Steve’s neck and Steve instinctively brought his hands to rest on Tony’s hips.

“But also something that would bring fear to our enemies when they heard it.”

Steve huffed. “Anything else?”

“I guess it would also have to bring hope to the people, you know?”

“Naturally.”

Tony leaned in and Steve closed his eyes. But just before he kissed him, Tony exclaimed, “I got it!”

“What?” Steve asked, disoriented.

“I have the perfect name.”

Steve smiled at this man, so bright and full of life. He couldn’t wait for Tony to put the armor on and to fly with him, because even though they’ve only done it twice so far, it was fast becoming Steve’s new favorite thing in the world. And then they were going to go to Tony’s penthouse which Steve would not leave until he showed Tony just how much he loved him.

Because he did. Love him. Impossibly and inevitably.

“And what is it?” he asked, voice full of hope for the new future.

“The Avengers.”


End file.
